“Who wants a blessing? Who wants a blessing?” yelled the pauper from his corner in the street. People looked at him weirdly as they walked by him. “How can this beggar, who has had no success in his life, be giving out blessings for our successes?” The entire idea seemed off to the villagers and townsfolk, but this kept on going on and on for weeks and months.

From a faraway town, the rich Mr. Zundel made his way through the land for business. It was at a certain crossroads, just before a long stretch in the journey, that his driver asked that he be given some time to rest in a lodge. Zundel, with his elegant stature, gave the innkeeper a hefty deposit for the overnight stay for two, and for horse feed, hay, and water. Everything was ahead of schedule, but by morning, the rich man realized his woes as he found his driver dead beneath his covers.

“He must’ve contracted some illness along the way, and this is why he asked to rest,” Zundel told himself. Without many options, he decided to bury his driver in the old cemetery in this passerby town. Very few people came to the funeral, and even fewer to mourn, and after just another day, the rich man was on his way to the big city to finish his business dealings. He told himself, “I will give my driver’s widow a hefty sum so that she and her kids can live happily and comfortably for the rest of their lives.”

But his worries didn’t end there. Without his driver, he got lost and stuck over and over again. He couldn’t figure out his path or what road to take. He didn’t know how to tie his horses or how often to feed them. His wheels were muddy and rusty, and they caused his terrible nausea and sickness. He slowly ran out of food, and no matter how much money or smarts he had in his bags, his situation became dire without his trusty driver.

After half a year of wandering and loss, he finally made it to a little village. He had no clue where on the map he was or how he even got there. It was as though his horses just knew where to go. He looks around and hears a voice calling out from afar, “Who wants a blessing?”

“Me!” he yells. He trips over his own feet as he makes his way over to this angel offering him hope.

Townsfolk run over to him and tell him, “Mr., you won’t be getting anything from him. He’s a beggar and pauper. He has nothing to offer. It is a waste of your time to search for goods in his sack. He can’t help himself. What can he give when everything he does lack?” 

Zundel turned to those voices beside him and asked, “Is there anyone else who is offering me a blessing besides him? No? So leave me alone!” He ran over to the beggar to receive the very much needed blessing he was so desperate for.

As he gets closer, he can’t believe his eyes. This beggar used to be from his very own city. Zundel tells him, “Yankel, do you remember me? You are such a beautiful sight for my sore eyes!”

Yankel the beggar looks at him and says, “Of course I do, Zundel, and it seems like just seeing me is the blessing you needed!”

Zundel tells him, “You know, I never really paid attention to you when you were in my town, but now that I am so far away and lost, your familiar face alone makes me feel closer to home. It truly is a blessing to see you. Yankel, show me the way home, and you will be a beggar no more!”

Devarim 30:14: “Ki Karov Eilecha Hadavar Me’od,” for the word of Hashem is so close to you. It is in your mouth and heart to do it.

There is a blessing you seek, and it isn’t just the Zundel’s of the earth who need it. There are people who live right beside it and stay away because it seems too good to be true. Then there are those who travel across deserts and oceans and lose years of their lives trying to find what is real and true, only to find out that all they truly needed was direction to get back home.

The greatest blessing we can ever have is the connection we have with Hashem. It is inevitable among humans that we will lose our drivers along the way. The security we lived with and the comfortability we were accustomed to will one day be gone. When this happens, for one sooner and for one later, we are meant to look for the blessing and our way back home.

Many think that they will go far and wide to look for that thing that will make them feel alive. Some will fight to keep their dying business alive just so they aren’t called a failure, but in truth, Hashem wants them to break their egos and rise up by allowing the fall.

Some get lost in their search and muddy their wheels in mud and rust. They keep moving forward and deeper into the rut even though they know they are completely lost. They fall into their own mind trap, and their choices are no longer their own. They become pawns of immediate gratification, and even if they traveled west for days, they will switch course by the slightest inclination or persuasion. It is such an unfortunate stage for many as they find themselves in this place where we will all be finding ourselves in.

Hear my sons, hear. Run to the blessing, and you will find it. It isn’t far from you, and it requires no search. It is right before your eyes even when they are closed. You will find that familiar voice, “Kametz Aleph Uh!” singing in the background. All you have to do is listen.

Quiet down the rush. Stop moving and shaking through rocky roads. Allow your horses to take you where you have to get to, because for a while, you have to learn to trust. Your ideas have led you nowhere. Your doings have only plundered you deeper. Allow yourself to be led to the village, the place where people who seek truth are found.

They may not be the sharpest tools in the shed, and they may not have much to show for themselves yet, but that is only because they are still seeking. They too are in their own life, and they are blinded to see what is right in front of them. They need some Siyata Dishmaya to be led on the proper path and finally wake up and see the truth. But at least, surround yourself with those people, because it is only through your brothers that you will truly come to find the blessing and the road back home.

We cannot stay lost for the rest of our lives because we had to bury our driver years ago. Episodes occur and times move on, and we have to move forward. So many run to high heavens to find a reawakening, with substances or ceremonies. I have been there too, but it is not there that you will find peace.

But you know where you will? “B’phicha U’bilvavcha La’asoso,” when you will open your mouth and heart to speak and praise the blessings of Hashem. Because once that happens, you will be free to take the horses by the reins and go back home! 

You will ride with one breath and bring home the peace you wished for.

Good Shabbos

Duvi Lemmer

LemmerHypnotherapy.com