Two people came to a great Torah scholar and asked him to explain to them the difference between good and evil. One of them considered himself a great sinner, because in his youth, having quarreled with a close friend, he hit him in the heat of anger with a heavy stick and killed him. From that day on, his conscience never ceased to torment him. The second man never fell into sin and, at least in his own eyes, was pure and not guilty of anything.
The learned husband listened to both of them and asked them to tell about themselves: what they did in the past, how they made a living, and so on.
The first one could not stand it and burst into tears. Through tears he told how he killed his best friend. No, he did not hope for forgiveness either on earth or in heaven. The second stated that he did not remember any misdeeds, and if he had minor sins, they had long since disappeared from his memory. Then the learned Talmudist said to the first:
“Go, my son, to the field across the road, take a big stone - the biggest one you can find - and bring it to me.” And you,” he turned to the second, who considered his life impeccable, “go to the same field and bring many small stones - the smallest ones you can find - and as many as you can carry in your hands.
They both went to carry out the assignment. When they returned, the rabbi looked at the stones and said:
- Now listen to what to do next. Take these stones and take them to exactly the same places from where you took them. Then come back to me.
Once again they both got down to business. The first one who brought the large stone to the rabbi easily found the place where he took it from and put it back. And the second one couldn’t remember where he got the small stones. So he returned to the sage without fulfilling his instructions. Then the rabbi said:
“Human actions are like these stones. “You,” he said to the first, “easily remembered where you took the big stone, and putting it in its place was not difficult.” “And you,” he turned to the second, “couldn’t do this, because there were too many places where you took the pebbles, it’s impossible to remember them all.”
The rabbi stood up.
“It is good for a person whose conscience weighs him down like a big stone—it is easier to remove sin from his soul and open it to repentance,” he explained.
And to the self-satisfied self-lover, who saw no faults in himself, he said:
- But woe to the one who does not pay attention to minor mistakes: without noticing them, he will not even ask for forgiveness, while even a great sinner with his repentance helps himself to become better and purer.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru