Once upon a time a group of American tourists decided to go trekking (hiking) in Nepal. They went there because Nepal has the highest mountains and the lowest valleys in the world. They wanted to stand on top of the world and see what it looked like.
When they arrived in the city of Kathmandu, the place from where they would start their journey, they hired Sherpas (Nepalese for Shleppers) to carry their hiking gear. While the Americans would walk and enjoy the scenery, the sherpas would carry their tents, sleeping bags, cooking utensils, and their food. They would even set up the tents, lay out the sleeping bags and cook the food at the end of the day. And the next morning… they would make breakfast, break down camp, pack it up and carry it to their next destination. These American trekkers were in for a treat!
At the end of the first day, the sherpas did what they had promised. The sherpas set up the tents, laid out the sleeping bags and cooked the food. They even washed the dishes! And the Americans went to bed happy and satisfied. In the morning, the Americans woke up to the sound of a fire crackling, the smell of fresh coffee brewing and the taste of a wonderful Nepalese breakfast. The sherpas then cleaned up, rolled up the sleeping bags, took down the tents and carried the gear to the next camp site as the Americans hiked along, enjoying the beautiful scenery of those majestic Nepalese mountains.
Day after day this routine continued. The Americans would hike, the sherpas would schlep and set up and cook and clean and pack up. Until one morning the Americans woke up to nothing. No sound of fire crackling. No smell of coffee brewing. No sight of special foods being cooked. All the Americans saw were the sherpas sitting quietly in a circle, as though they were meditating.
“What do you think they’re doing?” one American asked another.
“I don’t know, why don’t you ask them?” said another.
“I’m not going to ask them… you do it.”
And on it went until one brave American trekker tiptoed up to the Sherpas and lightly tapped one on the shoulder.
“Um… uh… sorry, don’t mean to disturb you but… um… well everyday you carried our gear, set up our camp, cooked our food and cleaned up. And in the morning you did it all again. I don’t want to be a bother but we all noticed that this morning you are just sitting in a circle and no one is making breakfast. We’re wondering what is different about today?”
“Oh,” the Sherpa replied. “Thanks for asking. If you noticed, this is the seventh day we’ve been traveling. All week long we have been moving so quickly that we got ahead of our souls. So now we are sitting here quietly in this circle, resting, and waiting for our souls to catch up with us. Why don’t you join us?” So the Americans did and they got their first taste of how yummy Shabbat can be.
-Daniel
Rabbi Daniel Gropper, DD serves as the spiritual leader of Community Synagogue in Rye, NY. He is married to Tamara, and is the father of Elijah, Shai and Noa. He attended his first MEA workshop in January 2023, and brings those teachings to the Jewish community.