Rabbi Mark's Excellent Adventure
  • Home
  • Bio
  • Blog
  • Hashpa'ah: Spiritual Direction
    • What is Hashpa'ah?
    • Individual and Group Sessions
    • Spiritual Eldering
  • Contact
  • Music & Teachings

A Year of Stories #3: The Optimist & The Pessimist

8/1/2014

0 Comments

 
Picture
My late rebbe, R' Zalman Schacter-Shalomi, zt"l, (זכר צדיק לברכה) was a master storyteller. He taught: "a good story is one where the mind surprises the heart". "A Year of Stories" is dedicated to his memory. I invite you to forward the link to these stories so that they find their way into the hearts of other tellers and listeners. 

∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞

There once lived a king who had twin sons. Though they looked exactly alike, their personalities were different as night and day. One was a devout pessimist, the other an incurable optimist. When they came of age, the king decided it was time to open their eyes to the other side of life, and he planned to do so through the gift that he would give to each of them.  

For the pessimist, he went to the royal jeweler.

"I would like him to have the finest watch ever made", he said.  "Money is no object - jewels, diamonds, gold, platinum- the best. And I want it ready by his birthday."

For the optimist, he went to the Palace Gardener.

"When he wakes up on the morning of his birthday, I want him to see, at the foot of his bed, a huge pile of manure."

The birthday arrived, and the king, with great anticipation, went to see his pessimistic son. He found him sitting glumly on his bed, holding a magnificent watch.

"How do you like your gift?" asked the king.

"It's all right," said the pessimist. "But it's really rather gaudy. And even if it wasn't, it's the sort of thing that will probably get stolen, or I might break it or worse, I might lose it."

The king had heard enough and went off to visit the room of the sunny optimist. As he approached he heard singing and laughter teeming from the room, and when he entered, he found his son dancing with joy. When his father entered the room, the son ran up and hugged him.

"Oh, thank you, father, thank you! It's just what I wanted!"

Bewildered, the king asked his son, "Just what are you thanking me for?"

"Why father", the son cried out with glee, "for the horse!"

(Retold by R' Mark Novak - origin unknown - please let me kmow if you have a source)

*******************
 If you would like to be added to the growing list of 
"Year of Stories" followers, let me know at RebMarko@gmail.com, 
with "Year of Stories" in the subject line.  
*******************
A personal note: When a storyteller follows up a story by telling the listener what it means, my heart sinks and my mind withdraws. I leave it to you, gentle reader, to place these stories into the context of your personal journey, gleaning whatever meaning or interpretation resonates within. 


0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    RSS Feed

    Mark Novak is a "free-range" rabbi who lives in Washington DC and works, well, just about everywhere. In 2012 he founded Minyan Oneg Shabbat, home to MOSH (Minyan Oneg Shabbat), MindfulMOSH (Jewish mindfulness gathering), and
    ​Jump in the MOSh Pit with...

    a weekly online gathering

    Archives

    June 2017
    February 2017
    August 2016
    December 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013

    Categories

    All
    A Year Of Stories
    Baal Shem Tov
    Baseball
    Blessing
    Children
    Church
    Curses
    Death
    Elie Weisel
    Elijah
    Folktale
    Funny
    Gardening
    Hanukkah
    Howard Thurman
    Imagination
    Kashrut
    King Solomon
    Marie Howe
    Mark Nepo
    Mary Oliver
    Memory
    Mindfulness
    Minyan Oneg Shabbat
    Mourning
    Music
    Nasrudin
    Oneg Shabbat
    Outreach
    Passover
    Prayer
    R' Zalman
    Sacrifice
    Shabbat
    Shiva
    Shlomo Carlebach
    Story
    Sufi
    Teshuvah
    Thomas Merton
    Tisha B'Av
    Yizkor

    Jewish Bloggers
    Powered By Ringsurf
  • Home
  • Bio
  • Blog
  • Hashpa'ah: Spiritual Direction
    • What is Hashpa'ah?
    • Individual and Group Sessions
    • Spiritual Eldering
  • Contact
  • Music & Teachings