I just read this Talmudic Tale from the ancient Jewish sages and couldn't help but notice the similarities between our Messiah's teaching in Matthew 25. I thought is was relevant to this season to see repentance as wisdom and preparation for the returning of our Messiah.
A king, in order to test out the wisdom of his attendants, invited them to a banquet but did not set an exact hour for the feast.
The wise ones among them dressed fittingly and held themselves in readiness for the call as they said, "We might be called any moment."
The foolish ones, on the other hand, said, "There will be plenty of time to prepare" and went about their affairs making no preparation whatever for it.
Suddenly, the king announced that the banquet was ready and the wise, who were ready and fittingly clothed, were admitted and seated at the table but to those who had foolishly delayed preparing themselves and came in their work clothes, he said:
"Those who are properly attired for the banquet may sit down and dine with me but those who did not properly prepare themselves, after being invited, shall stand and look on."
It was Rabbi Eliezer who said, "Repent one day before thy death." "But," asked his pupils. "How does a man know on what day he will die so he may repent before that day?"
"Ah!" responded the sage, "that is the secret. Let him prepare today and every day lest he die tomorrow, and doing so, he will be prepared every day of his life."
Compare this story to our rabbi Jesus':
"Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish. Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept.
"And at midnight a cry was heard: 'Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!' Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. And the fooish said to the wise, 'Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out,' But the wise answered saying, 'No, lest there should not be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.' And while they went to buy, the bridgroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut.
"Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, 'Lord, Lord, open to us!' But he answered and said, 'Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.'
"Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming." (NKJ)
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Sunday, September 5, 2010
The Nature of Pleasure Seeking
I will try to address the questions from my previous posts in a future blog post. For now, here is is an excerpt from The Wisdom of Maimonides pg 33 as quoted from Introduction to Perek Herek, Sanhedrin.
"If you contemplate these two forms of pleasure--physical and nonphysical--you will appreciate the baseness of the one and the supremacy of the other, even in this material world. This is obvious from the fact that most people--and perhaps even all--will spend prodigious psychological and physical effort in order to attain position and honor in the eyes others. This pleasure is not physical pleasure, such as eating and drinking.
Similarly, many people choose to seek revenge on their enemies rather than indulge themselves in physical pleasure. And we find that many people avoid the greatest of physical pleasures out of fear that this will bring them shame and embarrassment in the eyes of people, or because they desire to enhance their reputation.
If this is our situation in the material world, surely this applies in the spiritual world--the World to Come--where our souls will be able to experience the Creator. This pleasure cannot be parceled out or described, nor can an analogy be given to define it...
This is the ultimate good to which no good can be compared, nor can any pleasure be likened to it. For how can there be any comparison between that which is eternal and endless, and any temporal matter?"
The argument is interesting in that the realities of the material world point to the supremacy of the spiritual world. It seems to me that it is as if we are experiencing a taste of His eternal kingdom even though it is not fully here yet. And that there is some sort of unity between the physical and spiritual worlds as even this physical/material world is pointing to the supremacy of the World to Come when the physical and spiritual realites will be fully revealed and heaven and earth will be come one.
"If you contemplate these two forms of pleasure--physical and nonphysical--you will appreciate the baseness of the one and the supremacy of the other, even in this material world. This is obvious from the fact that most people--and perhaps even all--will spend prodigious psychological and physical effort in order to attain position and honor in the eyes others. This pleasure is not physical pleasure, such as eating and drinking.
Similarly, many people choose to seek revenge on their enemies rather than indulge themselves in physical pleasure. And we find that many people avoid the greatest of physical pleasures out of fear that this will bring them shame and embarrassment in the eyes of people, or because they desire to enhance their reputation.
If this is our situation in the material world, surely this applies in the spiritual world--the World to Come--where our souls will be able to experience the Creator. This pleasure cannot be parceled out or described, nor can an analogy be given to define it...
This is the ultimate good to which no good can be compared, nor can any pleasure be likened to it. For how can there be any comparison between that which is eternal and endless, and any temporal matter?"
The argument is interesting in that the realities of the material world point to the supremacy of the spiritual world. It seems to me that it is as if we are experiencing a taste of His eternal kingdom even though it is not fully here yet. And that there is some sort of unity between the physical and spiritual worlds as even this physical/material world is pointing to the supremacy of the World to Come when the physical and spiritual realites will be fully revealed and heaven and earth will be come one.
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