Wisdom of the Ages
My great-grandfather was a Rebbe, (Not only a religious leader, but a spiritual advisor and mentor in all arenas of life). My grandfaterh, the Rebbe's son, with whom I spent much of my early years was very orthodox. In addition, my father was a descendant of the Jewish priesthood, as was his father who raised him according to observant Jewish law. It is no wonder that many of my memories return to this background. that the ancient stories I was told remained with me and have become a source of involvement with my past. I seem to recall I was told that these stories were from the Talmud (a vast collection of Jewish laws and traditions.) I don't know if that is true. Of this I am certain. I have two favorites.
To make sense of the first one, I must go back many years when my children were in their early teens. I had been laid off by an Aerospace company and seeking unemploy-ment insurance until I could find other work. One day I took Robin and Bruce with me. We were seated at a desk while I was being interviewed by an agent. The subject of how much I had earned needed to be verified. When the amount of many thousands of dollars came up, one child asked, “Where did it all go?” I asked for the agent’s patience while I explained that it went for a roof over our heads, for food, for clothing, for school supplies and much more. It was then that the other asked, “How can we ever repay you?”
I apologized to the agent and explained that I needed to speak with my children. That I would return whenever she became available again. I walked over to sit on a bench with a child on either side of me and told them this story.
Once there was a mother bird that built a nest in a tree on a very tiny island. There she laid three eggs. As the eggs hatched, the rains came. Water covered the island and began to climb up the tree trunk. She knew there would only be enough time to carry one baby safely to land. She picked up the first baby and as she was flying asked, “When I am very old and the rains come, what will you do for me?” The baby answered, “I will do for you what you have done for me.” She dropped the baby in the water. She picked up the second baby, asked the same question and got the same answer. Again she dropped the baby in the water. With her tiny heart beating fast, she picked up the third baby and asked, “When I am very old and the rains come, what will you do for me?” That baby answered, “For you Mother, I will do nothing, but I will do for mine what you have done for me.” That baby she carried to safety.
I then said to my children, “Remember that you owe me nothing, but you really are in debt to my grandchildren.
Again we travel to the past for the second story. It may sound strange, but it all began because of hair. This was the beginning of long hair for boys and men. It was also the beginning of many frustrated parents who couldn’t believe that it as allowable for their son to grow hair that made him look like a girl. It was particularly hard on my cousin, Marion. No explaining that it was the rage, that everyone was letting their hair grow, that her son was just being like everyone else’s son and that when you walk behind him and he looks like a girl, it’s all right to not like it. Just learn to accept it. She could not, so I told her this story.
There once was a king who had only one son. He loved this child above all others. One day the young prince left home and did not return. The king mourned for him as the days moved into weeks and the weeks into months, though very many were sent to look for the prince. One day, a courtier was traveling in another country and he saw the prince. He hurried to him and exclaimed, “My prince. I am so happy to see you and to see you are well. But why do you not return to your father? He sits in mourning every day.” The young prince answered, “I cannot.” The courtier hurried back to the palace and received an instant entrance to the king. There he told the king of his experience with the prince and the answer that he received of “I cannot.” The king then said to the courtier, “Go back to that land and find my son. Take to him these words. Come as far as you can, I’ll come the rest of the way.”
The wisdom of all the ancients, from every land, has traveled through time and is wonderfully applicable today. Oh yes! Marion accepted her son’s hair. She went the rest of the way.
To make sense of the first one, I must go back many years when my children were in their early teens. I had been laid off by an Aerospace company and seeking unemploy-ment insurance until I could find other work. One day I took Robin and Bruce with me. We were seated at a desk while I was being interviewed by an agent. The subject of how much I had earned needed to be verified. When the amount of many thousands of dollars came up, one child asked, “Where did it all go?” I asked for the agent’s patience while I explained that it went for a roof over our heads, for food, for clothing, for school supplies and much more. It was then that the other asked, “How can we ever repay you?”
I apologized to the agent and explained that I needed to speak with my children. That I would return whenever she became available again. I walked over to sit on a bench with a child on either side of me and told them this story.
Once there was a mother bird that built a nest in a tree on a very tiny island. There she laid three eggs. As the eggs hatched, the rains came. Water covered the island and began to climb up the tree trunk. She knew there would only be enough time to carry one baby safely to land. She picked up the first baby and as she was flying asked, “When I am very old and the rains come, what will you do for me?” The baby answered, “I will do for you what you have done for me.” She dropped the baby in the water. She picked up the second baby, asked the same question and got the same answer. Again she dropped the baby in the water. With her tiny heart beating fast, she picked up the third baby and asked, “When I am very old and the rains come, what will you do for me?” That baby answered, “For you Mother, I will do nothing, but I will do for mine what you have done for me.” That baby she carried to safety.
I then said to my children, “Remember that you owe me nothing, but you really are in debt to my grandchildren.
Again we travel to the past for the second story. It may sound strange, but it all began because of hair. This was the beginning of long hair for boys and men. It was also the beginning of many frustrated parents who couldn’t believe that it as allowable for their son to grow hair that made him look like a girl. It was particularly hard on my cousin, Marion. No explaining that it was the rage, that everyone was letting their hair grow, that her son was just being like everyone else’s son and that when you walk behind him and he looks like a girl, it’s all right to not like it. Just learn to accept it. She could not, so I told her this story.
There once was a king who had only one son. He loved this child above all others. One day the young prince left home and did not return. The king mourned for him as the days moved into weeks and the weeks into months, though very many were sent to look for the prince. One day, a courtier was traveling in another country and he saw the prince. He hurried to him and exclaimed, “My prince. I am so happy to see you and to see you are well. But why do you not return to your father? He sits in mourning every day.” The young prince answered, “I cannot.” The courtier hurried back to the palace and received an instant entrance to the king. There he told the king of his experience with the prince and the answer that he received of “I cannot.” The king then said to the courtier, “Go back to that land and find my son. Take to him these words. Come as far as you can, I’ll come the rest of the way.”
The wisdom of all the ancients, from every land, has traveled through time and is wonderfully applicable today. Oh yes! Marion accepted her son’s hair. She went the rest of the way.
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