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the master had two servants. they were both good servants. they both followed the instructions of the master. how they served him was not the same however.
an example: one day the master asked each of them for a glass of water.
the first servant took a glass from the cupboard, put some warm water in it and gave it to the stable boy to bring it to the master. he did just as he was asked, of course.
the second servant searched for the finest silver goblet, washed it and rinsed it, he looked for scratches in the goblet and buffed them out, he polished the goblet, then filled it with ice cold water which he filtered. he placed it on a silver platter, dressed in his finest clothes and personally brought it to the master, with a bow and a flourish.
when it came time for the servants to be paid, the master sent his agent to bring the first servant his pay. he was, of course, paid in full, the master is just.
for the second servant, the master himself brought him into the palace, embraced him with love, sat him down at his own table, fed him the finest delicacies, and kept him by his side, forever.
seems like you’re very into mashalim. gorgeous one.
Did the second servant belittle and insult the first servant?
feif, please don’t ruin it. we’re trying to modify the derech of speech on here, right? help us out, will ya?!
Sure he did & then the first servant & all his friends who were realy fine people spent the rest of their lives belittling & insulting the second servant for his incorrect behavior.
What the second servant didn’t realize was that the king loved the first servant just as much, and took great offense to the insults directed at him. In fact, the king felt that when the servant was insulted, it was as if they were insulting the king himself!
Actually, what happened is that the first servant filled a sparkling crystal glass which he thought would bring honor to his master. The second used a shining silver goblet.
The two servants then argued and fought over whether the master prefers crystal or silver. They continuously argued over who is the better servant. In all the mayhem, they forgot to bring the water to the master.
After some time, the master walked away saying “the heck with both of them.”
Interesting. The way I heard the story, the master had the second servant flogged for searching for a cup, polishing it, and getting dressed, all while the master was dying of thirst.
Folks-
It’s not nice to make jokes that may upset someone else – even if from your perspective it’s innocuous and “what’s the big deal?”.
This thread made me laugh very hard, but it also makes me sad at how true this is. Unfortunately, when times are realtively easy for us, we fight among ourselves. When times are tough, we form a much stronger bond.
Sjs,
As has been proven over & over your last sentence is quite true & I think that that is what’s most important.
Feivel,
They don’t want to hear it. They will never listen, just like Korach.
notpashut: Remember, it was sinas chinam that destroyed the Beis Hamikdash. But, as you said, some people just don’t want to hear it.
Oh, and just remember the letzanus that the supposedly “frum” posters here make of YU and the Rabbonim there (such as R’ Tendler, who has been bashed here on numerous occasions) before you accuse others of it.
feivel:
A poet?
As with most poets, you are trying to make a point. In this case, there are dissenting opinions. Please don’t be surprised if people argue with you. The most effective method to do so is to turn your piece on its head.
If your only point was Hiddur Mitzva is better than not, it would not have needed to been made. People took your story as a personal attack. (correctly?)
I happen to like dd’s Moshel. It describes Sinas Chinam and how much Hashem hates it.
Feivel- you are one of the only people around here with their head firmly screwed on!
Well done and keep ’em coming!
noitallmr –
I second your comment. (dd has misunderstood more than just your last comment.)
Thank You Feivel.
feifun,
Maybe you haven’t heard the tape recording of Dr. Tendler expressing his feelings about chreidim & their Rabbonim.
See, I try to be dan lekaf z’chus – even you!
You’re right, I haven’t heard it. Care to tell me what RABBI Tendler said?
notpashut, please specify which Tendler. There are many and many of them are Rabbis AND Doctors. I assume you are talking about Rabbi Moshe Dovid Tendler?
May I submit my own mashal? Thanks.
A master once had two servants who both followed his instructions, but not the same way.
An example: One day he asked both for a drink of water. The first servant found, cleaned, buffed and polished a beautiful silver goblet. He filled the cup with cold filtered water, and placed it on a platter (also buffed and polished). The servant then dressed in his finest clothes and served the water to the master with a deep bow. The first servant then watched as the second servant, who was moving much slower, also fulfilled the master’s request.
The first servant noticed, much to his consternation, that the second servant was not honoring the master as was proper. While the second servant did find a fine silver goblet which he buffed and polished, he did not buff and polish as thoroughly as the first servant, and actually left a patch of tarnish on it. He also moved much slower than the first servant, pausing frequently in his work. The water was not as thoroughly chilled, and while the second servant did wear fine clothes to present the water to the king, he did not dress as well and his tie was crooked.
The first servant pointed out each of these shortcomings, but despite his best efforts to point out exactly what the other was doing wrong, the second servant just continued on his way. The first servant eventually gave up on trying to improve the first servant, figuring that when the master paid both servants, the second servant would be forced to recognize his faults.
Finally the second servant presented the water to the master. When the time came for the master to pay his two servants, he brought the first servant into his palace, and seated him at the master’s own table, where he fed him fine delicacies. Much to the surprise of the first servant, the master also brought the second servant into his palace and seated him at his own table, at his right. The master fed the second servant the finest delicacies from his table, even better than what he gave the first servant.
The first servant approached the master and asked, repectfully, why the master had chosen to honor the second servant even more than the first, when the first servant had done more to honor the master. The master explained that the second servant suffered severe pains in his arms and legs, and that his efforts to honor the master had cost him great effort and pain, and were in fact greater than the master had ever expected of him. “And,” added the master, “If you were so concerned that the other servant was not honoring me appropriately, why did you not help him in his work?”.
notpashut,
puhleez whatever R’ tendeler said about chareidim it cant possibly be as bad as the things that are said against M.O. Y.U. rabbonim (and people alot of times to) in chareidi yeshivas just about evrey day (calling them apikorsim at evrey opportunity ect.).
anon- i gotta agree with you on this one. beautiful.
anon for this,
There was no need for you to hijack this thread. While your story may have been nice, it has zero to do with the mashul of the opening post in this thread. Its nice to recognize others handicaps certainly, so you should’ve started your own thread on that subject.
“”And,” added the master, “If you were so concerned that the other servant was not honoring me appropriately, why did you not help him in his work?”. “
Beautiful line. Really spot on where it hurts!
anon for this,
Point being, that your little story comes across as a critique of the very valid message in the original story of this thread (aside from being unrelated). I see no other reason you used the same characters in your story, with a completely different message.
Do you not like the message of the mashul in the beginning of this thread??
anon – just beautiful. there is simply nothing else to say.
Chuck – i don’t think your comments are helping your/feivel’s case.
chuck don’t kill anon. they’re both valid points. and what’s with the fact that’s they share characters? doesn’t every mashal have a king and either a prince, a princess or a servant? come on!
Chuck, was it unrelated or a critique? It can’t be both – if it was unrelated, it wouldn’t make a very good critique, would it?
There’s nothing wrong with criticizing the original post, that’s the idea of a forum – you discuss your opinions of things.
Besides, the original post was obviously criticizing those who don’t follow the lifestyle of the so-called “yeshivish” world, such as YU type people.
Why is everyone assuming that in the original story, the “bad” servant is modern orthodox? I read it differently!
There are Jews in all sects that dress the part and act the part on the outside, but behind the scenes they are not practicing with a full heart, just going through the motions. So yes, they are technically following halacha, but they dont do it with simcha. So they get their reward for following halacha, but the one who wants to serve Hashem and does it with a full heart gets the full schar.
I like anon’s too! It shows a different way of looking at the story. There are plenty of ways to rewrite this mashal and I invite everyone to try to post others!
Feif,
Your preceding comment states that ”YU types” are not mehudar on mitzvos. (As all the original post praised, being mehudar the mitzvos.)
Joseph:
I refer you to my post above.
There is no reason why all of the mesholim here can not be good and accepted, each with its own criteria?
GAW:
My comment was directed at Feif’s last sentence (beginning with ”Besides…”).
GAW:
My comment was directed at Feif’s last sentence (beginning with ”Besides…”).
Joseph:
I imagine it wasn’t aimed at those who only light one candle every night of Chanuka!
Feivel: What was the purpose of your original post?
Joseph, I definitely don’t think that! I think that you and others think that YU types aren’t mehudar (actually, you think much worse of YU types).
Anon for this had it best – you don’t know the circumstances others are in. You may disagree with many things I do, but you don’t know how tough it is for me to keep as much as I do. Hashem does, and will judge me accordingly. You have no right to judge me.
GAW,
Feivel’s mashul is clearly in praise of those who are mehudar mitzvos. This is rather clear.
There is no reason any of the letzonus that followed should have seen the light of day.
Joseph: Agreed. There is never a reason for letzonus. I just like some of the other moshelim as well.
Feivel,
I’m glad I “paskened” correctly 🙂
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