Back in the day, having a white elephant was a sign of
status and royalty. Being a luxury commodity, bred only in one country, the government
imposed a heavy tax on the export of these rare white elephants.
One day, a shrewd businessman was seen parading an
inconspicuous band of twenty grey elephants toward the customs checkpoint.
After a cursory inspection, and finding everything in order, the clerk
waived the businessman through the checkpoint. As he walked away, the businessman smirked to himself, and
was duly noticed by the checkpoint supervisor. Before he had a chance to pass
the border, the businessman was called back.
As calmly as he could, he marched his elephants back to the checkpoint. A huge water cannon was brought, and the operator began hosing down the elephants. Not being satisfied with a single wash-down, the supervisor ordered the cannon operator to do another, slower wash-down, with a higher water pressure.
A crack formed in one area, on one of the elephants, and a small patch of grey
paint washed away, revealing the bright white skin underneath. The supervisor
reveled in his success; he exposed a smuggler trying to evade the export-tax on White Elephants! The supervisor wanted to stick it to the businessman, so he
continued washing down the elephants; he wanted every bit of grey paint to be
washed off.
And then it happened...
A crack formed in another area, and a small patch of white paint washed away... revealing the elephant's natural grey skin underneath.
***
As we progress through life, our perspective, habits and personality continue to evolve. They are further influenced by our surroundings and our continued quest for purpose and fulfillment.
As with everything that exists which can be harnessed for either good, or the opposite, this "evolution" can result in an elevation in our commitment to our Tafkid, or result in a distraction from our Tafkid, R"L.
As with everything that exists which can be harnessed for either good, or the opposite, this "evolution" can result in an elevation in our commitment to our Tafkid, or result in a distraction from our Tafkid, R"L.
During this evolution, the Yetzer Hara tries to convince us that a newfound enjoyable habit, or enlightening idea is good for us, and gives us true meaning and pleasure in life - when, in truth, they may be antithetical to Torah and our true purpose in life. On top of our pure and holy layer of Kedusha which radiates from our Neshama, he tries to paint new layers of interests and habits. He then tries to convince us that the newfound color is our true one.
We must continuously evaluate our standing in this evolution, and always remind ourselves who we really are, and who we are really meant to be.
With the light of Torah, we can objectively distinguish our true selves, from the habits, desires or personality traits that are merely a layer painted on top of our true being.
We must continuously evaluate our standing in this evolution, and always remind ourselves who we really are, and who we are really meant to be.
With the light of Torah, we can objectively distinguish our true selves, from the habits, desires or personality traits that are merely a layer painted on top of our true being.
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