Learning From A Child And A Thief

It is taught that Rabbi Dov Baer, the Maggid of Mezeritch, is said to have told a disciple that in the service of God there are three things that one should learn from a child and seven things one should learn from a thief.

From a child one should learn:

1) Always to be happy
2) Never to sit idle
3) To cry for everything one wants

From a thief one should learn:

1) To work at night
2) If one cannot gain what one wants in one night to try again the next night
3) To love one's co-workers just as thieves love each other
4) To be willing to risk one's life even for a little thing
5) Not to attach too much value to things, even though one has risked one's life for them, just as
a thief will resell a stolen article at a fraction of it's real value
6) To withstand all kinds of beatings and tortures but to remain what you are
7) To believe that your work is worthwhile and not be willing to change it

I've always been impressed and inspired by these kinds of Hasidic teachings. They always seem to find a simple and unique way of sharing comprehensive messages of wisdom that the average person can relate to and understand. Here, for example, is the analogy of a thief and a child being equally able to teach us bits of wisdom that can lead to a more meaningful life. Normally, one would think of a child as a gift, while loathing a thief. But true to the teachings of Kabbalah and Jewish Mysticism, Rabbi Dov Baer portrays them both as having the same divine potential. We must just learn to see the sparks of light hidden beneath the physical husks of evil. Once revealed, it is our task to heal and reunite these sparks to their Divine Source in an effort of Tikkun.

I've pulled this passage about Rabbi Dov Baer from the book "Teachings of the Jewish Mystics," by Perle Besserman. The translation of the Maggid's original words is by Alan Unterman.

It's food for thought. Have a great weekend and early Shabbat Shalom to you!

Until next time....

Shmuel