There was a certain man who could cast spells in order to know the future. A holy man was approached by the spell caster and he told him: “You may thank the Holy One, blessed be He for his decree regarding you, since I see that you are going to marry a beautiful wife.” “And who is she?” asked the holy man. He answered: “Yaffa.” “Why,” said the holy man, “she is a married woman!” “It is clear to me,” said the spell caster, “that she will wed you.”
“Today,” said the holy man, “is not a day of good tidings, and I shall not say a blessing because of the death of a man who will have to die on my account. For who knows whether I am better than he?” “In that case,” said the soothsayer, “how shall a man wed a widow?” “There is no comparison,” said he, “since in that case her husband has already died. But you tell me this while he is still alive—and I shall always pray that he should have a long life.”
The spell caster was taken aback and asked: “how can you not accept the blessing of a beautiful wife?” The holy man answered: The Holy One, blessed be He said, ‘I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse, therefore choose life.’ “(Deuteronomy 30:19) The spell caster looked confused as the holy man continued: “We are commanded ‘You shall not practice divination or soothsaying.’ (Leviticus 19:26) and we are taught ‘They gaze and know not at what they gaze at, they ponder and know not what they ponder.’ (Sotah 12b) instead ‘give your whole heart to the Holy One, blessed be He. Trust not in dreams or omens, inquire not of fortunetellers. Such things show a lack of faith.’ ” (Tochechah, 14th century)
May all your tales end with Shalom (peace)
Click here for more storytelling resources
Tell it to your children, and let your children tell it to their children, and their children to the next generation. (Joel 1:3)
Help the Story Tour Blog stay online. Visit https://www.gofundme.com/stories-should-never-come-to-an-end and share with friends, family and story lovers you may know and please make your donation today.
Please share this story with family and friends and let us know what you think or feel about the stories in a comment or two.
Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter
Discover more from Story Tour
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
That is why we are not allowed to worship anything of creation like we would of G-d.
He is independent of creation, yet creation relies on Him for existence. He is ever present in all things, yet only He bears the ultimate uniqueness. Everything else is a copy (by activation) of His will in action. We are not to worship any form or image, no king, no messiah, no spheres, and especially ourselves.
If I play the guitar in a beautiful way, is it proper for the audience to tell the guitar that the music is wonder?
I would be insulted if you ignored me and told my instrument how great it sounds, since the guitar is useless without the musician.
Likewise we should acknowledge the Ein Sof infinite one who is proactively interacting with everything, both seen and unseen. That is the pure faith; then one becomes humbled and will by His grace be able to control his/her anger, greed, price, lust, and over attachment which inhibits living a fruitful life to subdue the earth and rule in it against all negative inspiration.
True astrology to me is the science of the planets as instruments of the Creator. We examine, measure, experiment, and discover the wonders of His handyworks, but never do we rely on them for predictions or soothsaying. They can be signs of the times on earth, but not to rely on them. Trust in HaShem only.