The Same Boat
The ditch-digger losers his diamond, but he continues to sing and dance; if he doesn’t, he’ll lose his life. We’re all in that same boat...
There’s a story told by Rabbi Nachman about a poor ditch-digger, who one day finds an enormous diamond. His friend tells him to travel to London and sell his diamond, as he’ll get a much better price for it there.
The ditch-digger finds passage on a boat, thanks to his diamond, and promises to pay the fare once the gem is sold. The captain of the ship treats him royally; he gives him the best cabin, the best food, the best wine.
One day, the ditch-digger falls asleep after his meal, with his diamond beside him on the table. The cabin boy comes in to clear up after the meal, shakes the tablecloth out of the cabin window – and the diamond is lost.
The ditch-digger wakes up to find the diamond gone. He knows that if anyone finds out that he no longer has the diamond, he’ll be killed. So instead, he continues to act joyfully and merry, as though he’s still got the world’s biggest gem in his pocket.
The captain comes to him, and asks him if he would agree to being listed as the owner of the ship’s cargo, just to help out with some export technicalities when they land. The ditch digger agrees – and just as they land, the captain keels over and dies.
The cargo is all in the name of the ditch digger, and he’s now many times richer than if he would have sold his diamond.
* * *
I would say that I’m at the point where the diamond has just gone out the window. Thank G-d, we’ve sold our house for a reasonably good price. Thank G-d, we think we’ve found the community that Hashem wants us to be in. Thank G-d, my kids are feeling much happier and healthier than they have for a while.
All reasons to be incredibly happy and grateful to Hashem. The only problem is, we still don’t have a property to move to when we leave our house after Pesach, or any idea how on earth we can afford one.
A little while ago, I was part of a group that visited the Ukraine, including the tomb of Rabbi Nachman in Uman, and the tomb of his main disciple, Rabbi Natan, in the town of Breslov.
It had already been an incredibly eventful bus ride by the time we actually made it to Breslov, and we only started out for the tomb itself as dusk was falling. It was very snowy and icy, and everything had frozen solid, so the walk itself wasn’t so easy.
I had decent boots and I was used to ‘walk-skating’ from my years living in Canada, but one of my roommates, who we’ll call Ruth, wasn’t so well-equipped. She was sliding all over the ice on her smooth-soled boots, and she fell down every few minutes.
The last time she fell, she really felt it and looked quite shaken up. We were still not even half way to the tomb, which is located down a steep little country track, and then up a few flights of wooden stairs. So I went over to her and took her arm and somehow, we managed to get to the tomb without any more falls.
But it was hard work and quite stressful. What should have been a 10 minute walk in normal times turned into a 40 minute odyssey. What’s more, the last of the light disappeared just as we entered the tomb to join the rest of the group. There were no street lights in that part of the world, and we knew it was going to be a tough walk back.
Ruth tried to pray, but couldn’t really concentrate. She was too anxious about the return trip. I prayed a little; I said ‘thank you’ to Rav Natan for all of his mesirut nefesh and self-sacrifice, to help more people to connect to the healing teachings of his Rebbe. I was so pleased that Hashem had helped me to get there. But I, too, was dreading the trip back.
We decided to start out a bit earlier than the rest of the group, to give us more time to go slowly, and make it less likely that we’d get accidentally left behind if everyone else made it back to the bus much faster than we did.
We took a big breath, we asked Hashem for help, we started to sing a song about it being good to thank Hashem – and we had a small, but very poignant miracle. 10 minutes later, in the pitch dark and with no mishaps, we were back at the bus. We both looked at each other, a bit spooked. How on earth had that happened? How had the journey been so short, so uneventful and so fast?
I think it’s because we both knew that we simply couldn’t do it by ourselves. Going, we could still see, so even though it was so treacherous and difficult, we were still relying on our own senses and abilities.
But in the dark, we had no choice but to trust Hashem to get us back to the bus in once piece; we just knew we couldn’t do it ourselves. And Hashem, in His mercy, came through for us.
I feel I’m at the same sort of ‘half-way’ point now in my family’s journey to try and find the right community for us. The last few weeks have been hard work, with all the worry and uncertainty, but we persevered, and we’ve taken a real leap into the dark by selling our house with nothing to move to.
Now, I need to get back to the bus. I need to get back from the ‘limbo’ of being homeless to being in the right home, in the right place, for the right price. And I know I can’t do it by myself. The lights have gone out, and I have absolutely no idea how I’m going to complete the journey.
But I know from that icy track in the back end of Breslov that it’s precisely when it’s so dark and treacherous, that Hashem comes to your aid. I’m not trying to move to have a fancy house, G-d forbid. I was very happy having a simple house with a small mortgage.
I’m moving because I believe in my soul that it’s what Hashem wants; and I want my kids to be in the right environment, where they can thrive as spiritually-aware Jews. I may still have a vested interest, who knows. But I know that at least 90% of this move is for the right reasons. So I’m just going to continue to call out, to sing thanks to Hashem for all the kindnesses He’s doing for my family, and to wait for Hashem to ease the way, and get us back to the bus.
Like the ditch digger, I have to keep on with joy. We all do, for we’re in the same boat with Rebbe Nachman’s proverbial ditch digger.
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