When the Hasidic master, Reb Yitzchak Yakov, the Seer of Lublin, died, his disciples divided his worldly goods. One got his books, one his kiddush cup, another his tallis. There remained one humble hasid. To him was given the Rebbe’s clock.On his way home, the hasid stopped at an inn. When he discovered he had no money to pay the innkeeper, he offered the Rebbe’s clock as payment. The innkeeper installed the clock in one of the rooms. A year later, another of the Rebbe’s hasidim passed by and stayed at the inn. All night, he could not sleep. All night, the innkeeper heard the restless footsteps of the hasid pacing the floor. In the morning, the hasid confronted the innkeeper: “The clock, where did you get the clock?” The innkeeper related the story. “I knew it!” responded the hasid. “This clock belonged to the Seer. It is a holy clock. All other clocks in the world mark time from the past – they measure us from where we’ve come. This clock ticks toward the future. Every time I lay down to rest, the clock reminded me how much more there is to do before redemption can be realized. It’s all in how we read the clock.
Rabbi Ed Feinstein is senior rabbi of Valley Beth Shalom in Encino, California. www.vbs.org
