Followers

Sunday, January 25, 2009

A Story

In the 1950s, the Lubavitcher Rebbe, walking on Eastern Parkway in Brooklyn, encountered two administrators of a local yeshiva gazing closely at a yellow school bus parked on the road. When the Rebbe asked them what they were looking at, they informed him that the bus was for sale and they were thinking of purchasing it for the yeshiva. “We desperately need our own bus,” they told the Rebbe.

“But this bus looks like an old shmateh,” the Rebbe said. “It seems like it’s on the verge of retirement. Why not purchase a brand new bus for the children?”

“If we could only afford that!” they exclaimed. “The price of this old bus is something we could fit into our budget.”

“Let me tell you something,” the Rebbe responded. “You know why you can’t afford the money for a new bus? Because in your mind, the old and run-down bus will suffice for your yeshiva. If it would be clear to you that your children need a new and beautiful bus, you would have the money to purchase it.”

What the Rebbe was saying is that in many cases, your standards are what ultimately define the quality and destiny of your life.

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