Cash Only
Ronny the flashy day-trader drives a new Audi A4 convertible with a supercharged 2300 CC engine; he certainly won't let some Haredi nerd preach to him…
The Yetzer Hara, the evil inclination, is the master swindler; look what he did to Ronny:
Ronny thinks he’s on top of the world. In his first year out of school, he made a ton of easy money as a day trader. Now, he’s sitting in a French café and orders another espresso and croissant. His eyes swivel from right to left like a tank turret, looking at every skirt that passes by, despite the fact that his new girlfriend, a lanky blond, is sitting next to him. In fact, Ronnie has changed girlfriends this month more than he’s changed his socks. If you check out the number of female’s phone numbers in the memory of his iPhone 6, you’ll find that they’re more numerous that the pairs of socks in his underwear drawer.
In the back of his mind, Ronny knows that he’s not living his life the way Hashem wants him to. But what the heck? The ground hasn’t opened up under his feet and swallowed him, nor has he been struck with a bolt of lightning. Everything’s OK – business is great, tennis once a week, gym twice a week, golf on Sunday, and a good time almost every night. Ronny’s not going to let some Haredi preach to him. The nerd with the beard and the black hat can barely afford a round-trip bus ticket to his Yeshiva, but Ronny drives a new Audi A4 convertible with a supercharged 2300 CC engine. He feels like a king; he looks in the mirror and tells himself, “Hey, bro – you’re class…”Ronny’s life is a fantasy, a screenplay written by his Evil Inclination.
If Ronny had spiritual eyes for a few moments, he’d see the ruination of his deeds in this world and in the upper worlds. He’d see the sorrow he causes to the Divine Presence. He’d see how his misdeeds contaminated the atmosphere and destroyed entire spiritual realms. Meanwhile, down here in the physical world of his material tunnel-vision existence, all Ronny sees is money, girls, and good times. He doesn’t realize that everything has a price tag and that one day, he’ll be called upon to pay. His checkbook, Diner’s Club, or Platinum American Express card won’t help him – he’ll have to pay cash.
Hashem, Ronny’s loving Father in Heaven sits patiently for Ronny to return home. But meanwhile, Ronny misinterprets Hashem’s patience and loving kindness as a sign that he’s Okay. Our sages warn him (to paraphrase Avot 3:16), “The restaurant is open, and a hand is writing everything you eat on an itemized bill that you’ll ultimately have to pay – and there are no mistakes…”
Imagine a guy that walks into a fancy French restaurant. He orders an appetizer of pate de fois gras, stuffed goose liver in wine sauce. “What would you like to drink, sir?” asks the waiter. Our hero orders a bottle of twenty-six year old Chateau de Rothschild Semillon to go with the appetizer and the second course of French onion soup, and a bottle of deep red 1996 Cabernet to go with his main course of chateaubriand in baby champignon mushroom sauce. For dessert, he orders an assortment of petit-fores and a glass of Napolean Brandy, followed by a demi-tasse cup of aromatic Marseilles coffee and a Havana cigar. Man, this is livin’…
Until…
The waiter arrives with the check. Our hero looks at the total and chokes on his cigar smoke. “One thousand, eighty dollars!” he shrieks (in Gematria, a sum that equals ten times Gehinnom).
Without batting an eyelash, the waiter says, “I didn’t do the eating, sir, you did. I served you everything you ordered, and it’s all itemized on the bill. You either pay up in cash, or spend some time in jail – it’s your choice.”
* * *
The above parable is crystal clear. The restaurant is this world and all the fancy foods are lusts and material amenities. The waiter is our power of free choice that brings us whatever we order. But, when the smoke clears, we have to pick up the tab and pay cash.
So what do you do if you’ve been living on plastic, and now, you can’t pay the bills? Despair? Get depressed? G-d forbid! Rebbe Nachman of Breslev says that there’s no despair in the world! Hashem in His magnificent loving kindness has given us the mitzvah of Teshuva. All we have to do is four easy steps – stop our misdeeds, confess to Hashem, ask for forgiveness, and resolve to do better, and Boom! Hashem puts all our unpaid bills in the paper shredder; not only that, He gives us a reward. Where on earth will you get a better deal?
Rebbe Nachman of Breslev explains (see Likutei Moharan I:15) that when a person judges himself, the Heavenly Courts are not allowed to judge him, for there’s no double jeopardy. So, if a person does sixty minutes of soul-searching and teshuva every day while talking to Hashem in his or her own words – what we call personal prayer, or hitbodedut, he’ll be able to walk right into the synagogue on Rosh Hashanah with a promise from Rabbenu Nachman in his pocket for an inscription and signature in the Book of Life for a happy and healthy New Year, amen.
Tell us what you think!
Thank you for your comment!
It will be published after approval by the Editor.