A MONKEY’S WISE ZEIDA

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A MONKEY’S WISE ZEIDA

Harav Y. Reuven Rubin Shlita

My readership will well know that I enjoy collecting stories, here is one that I find particularly fascinating in its message.

One hot day a hat-seller in Poland got tired from schlepping his basket of hats to the market, so he stopped to take a nap in the woods. When he woke, he discovered that all his hats were gone. He looked up and saw a group of monkeys in the tall tree above him wearing them. As he wondered what to do to get his hats back, he tipped back the hat that he was wearing and scratched his head. He watched in amazement as he saw all the monkeys do the very same thing. So, he took off his own hat and watched as they copied his actions. He waived his hat about, so did the monkeys, then with great flair, he threw his hat to the ground. The monkeys followed suit and our hero laughed as he ran about gathering his hats and ran off.

Well, the story of grandpa and the hats became a legend that was passed along from one generation to the next. Every grandson knew how Zeidy fooled those monkeys and got his hats back. Some fifty years passed and one fine day the great grandson of our hat seller found himself walking in the very same forest. He too was a hat salesman, and he also schlepped with him a huge box of hats. Soon, tiredness got the better of him and he laid down to take a nap at the very same spot his great grandfather had all those years before rested. Upon awakening he found that, lo and behold, all his hats were gone. He looked up to the trees and was astounded to see fifty monkeys wearing his hats on their heads. Well, he knew of his family story so he pulled his own hat back and scratched his head. Fifty monkeys did the same. He then took his hat off and waved it about, so did the monkeys. He finally threw his hat to the ground but strangely the monkeys only grabbed their hats and firmly pushed them back on their heads. One chimp came scampering down the tree, grabbed the hat from the ground, gave him a slap, and said, “Hey! You think you’re the only one who had a grandfather?”

Well, we all had Zeidys, but what have we learned from their examples? In a world that specializes in superficiality it’s not easy sometimes to remember the lessons of our ancestors. Take for example the dream of Yaakov Avinu in this week’s Parsha.  He had a vision in a dream. “A ladder was standing on the ground and its top reached up towards heaven. Hashem’s angels were going up and down on it….”

Yaakov sees that the ladder to heaven starts here on earth; the angels are ascending from this mortal place created by our actions, by our ability to care.

We are living in a very materialistic society, one built on earthly stuff. Perhaps the challenge of our times is to create Heavenly moments that can ascend up to Heaven despite the gravitational pull of our base environment.

Our forefathers had stories; they lived in times that called for bravery. We are perhaps not challenged in the same way as they were, but we can use their examples for guidance. The trouble is that our young often seem disconnected from what was, they don’t see those stories as speaking to their own experience. With all the new-found sources of information available it is no wonder that they seem beyond our sphere of understanding. Some of them harbour a sense of whimsical arrogance because they can connect with modern gadgets, whereas we seem out of touch.

We must repeat those stories to them again and again; we must bring our ancestors to life and make their lessons vivid to all.  I recently heard from the esteemed Dayan HaRav Y Berger Shlita of Manchester that the Tzadik, the Klausenberger Rebbe Shlita often explains why in our times we see Boruch Hashem, so much more longevity of years. In previous epochs families were closer and children lived and learned from their elders in real time and true reality. There were not so many distractions and the Tzaddikim could be experienced at close quarters. The world was a more intimate one, wherein people felt the touch of Hashem’s care ever so closely. Today we are drawn apart by all life’s distractions, and our young don’t always have from whence to absorb the true warmth of Yiddishkeit. So, says the Rebbe, our elders are living longer so as to be able to shine forth that which they have experienced and, in this way, give the next generation a true sense of undiluted spirituality.  The stories in the Chumash are keys to deep truths that speak to eternity, Yaakov’s ladder still stands and the Angels are those we create.

Our elders are not just there to entertain us, or teach us to hold on to our hats. We are not monkeys, nor are our young, just sightseers that witness our former world through the lenses of a convoluted world. We are meant to create tomorrow’s angels, by showing our children the true meaning of Yakov’s ladder.

May we be blessed in this way, and use the gift of our years wisely. On a personal note I want to add that these words are a missive to my own soul. My eldest great granddaughter Boruch Hashem just got engaged, I am humbled to be so blessed, and hope I will be some sort to example worthy of this great gift.