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A merchant in the market made an announcement: “I'm giving out this watch for free to whoever wants it!”. Soon enough someone approached him and asked for the watch. To his surprise the merchant asked him to pay 100 Euros for the watch. The person asked, "Didn't you say that it's for free?" The merchant answered: “Yes, it's for free to whoever wants it. But how do I know that you really want it? If you are ready to give 100 Euros for it, then I know that you really want it.”
The power of will is great. The Zohar teaches us that “everything depends on the will”. But doesn’t everyone want to live a moral and productive life and have a nice family? If everybody wants it, why is it not so easy to achieve it?
The answer is that we sometimes confuse between ‘want’ and ‘wish’. A wish is something we’d like to have, but we don’t really believe is possible, so we don’t make a big effort to get it: I wish I’d win the lottery, I wish I knew Hebrew, I wish I had another job…
A want on the other hand means that we understand that something is truly important to us, that we deeply desire it and therefore we are willing to do whatever is possible in order attain it. When we are committed to whatever we want and are ready to pay the price, then we can get it. When we show with our actions that we really want something, then we can reach it.
Let's reevaluate what moral values or mitzvot are really important for us and make a firm decision that we truly want it. With this attitude, the sky will be the limit and we will soon see how this lifestyle will become a reality.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Mendel and Nehama Hendel