The Right Tools

Herbie wasn’t exactly what you’d call a valedictorian; in fact, he barely squeaked through high school. Algebra gave him a headache and English composition worked on him like general anesthesia. If the SAT’s would have asked about TV shows and junk food, Herbie would have scored an 800; but since they didn’t, he didn’t even bother taking the exams. He wasn’t headed for college anyway with his C- average.

“Son, you have to do something with your life,” Herbie’s dad implored. “If you won’t be going to college, you must get a job. In this world, you have to hustle – there’s no free ride!” Herbie’s dad was a hard working electrician. Personally, Herbie hated hard work. But dad was right; he to do something. “Listen son, to be a licensed electrician, you must go to trade school…”

“I don’t wanna go back to school, Dad.”

“But what do you want to do? Without a trade, you’ll be a menial laborer getting minimum wage all your life. How about if I find you an apprenticeship with a plumber? You can learn plumbing on the job. A good plumber never lacks work. Besides, if you put your head to it, son, you can be on your own as a full-fledged plumber in a year or two. Plumbers make as much doing house calls as doctors do.”

Herbie went along with his father’s advice and became a the apprentice of a long-time family friend who happened to be a successful plumber. Herbie was slow in learning and not exactly the industrious type. The only time of his work day that he liked better than lunch hour was the last few minutes of the day, when he’d put the tools away. After nearly three years on the job, with his boss looking for a pleasant excuse to relieve himself of Herbie’s services, he suggested that his understudy set out on his own. “You know what you need to know, Herbie. Just work hard and do an honest job!” Herbie had no problem with the honesty part; it was the hard work that got to him…

His first job as a bona-fide self-employed plumber was a neighbor’s leaky faucet, a job that’s a “piece of cake” for a plumber. One unscrews the faucet, removes the corroded sealant rings, and replaces them with new rubber sealant rings that cost less than a dollar. The job takes less than fifteen minutes to perform, and with travel time and house call included, the plumber gets $131.50! And, for an innovative Israeli-style plumber, he doesn’t even need to carry around different sizes of rubber rings. He uses teflon tape or flax fiber to seal faucets and drains…

Herbie was so proud of himself – he succeeded in unscrewing the faucet and he quickly located the leak-causing culprit, a sealant ring that was so corroded that it crumbled in his hand. But he looked in his toolbox, and to his dismay, he had no 1/2” sealant rings. In fact, he had no sealant rings at all. And, since he was an Iowan and not an Israeli, he didn’t have teflon tape or flax-fiber either. To further complicate matters, the nearest hardware store was five miles away. So without the right tools, a fifteen-minute became a three-hour job.

Are we all a bunch of Herbies, going through life without the right tools to get our job done? Maybe we’re not couch potatoes, and maybe we’re industrious, self-starting professionals. Maybe we’re diligent, too, with big aspirations. But many of us are suffering from clogged emotional drains. Happiness and gratification don’t seem able to flow through our hearts and brains, which are clogged  with worry, anxiety, anger and depression.

How do we unclog the negative emotions?

The best way is to apprentice ourselves to an experience spiritual plumber who will teach us how to use the most important spiritual tool there is – emuna.

Emuna is the tool that every individual needs to be sane in an insane world. Emuna unclogs brains and hearts that overflow with the emotional sewage of negative emotions. Just as one can’t dwell in a home where the plumbing is backed up, a soul is disgusted when it’s trapped in a body without emuna.

Breslev Israel, under the spiritual leadership of our beloved rabbi and spiritual guide, Rabbi Shalom Arush, is the place to learn emuna. Enjoy the articles on this site, and try our emuna books and CDs. You’ll be glad you did, for we all need the right tools. Blessings always!