Rebbe Zusya from Anipol went to see his rebbe-mentor, Dov Ber, Maggid from Mezhirich.
“I heard, rabbi,” said Zusya, “that there are certain Ten Principles of Worship, but I don’t know about them.” So I came to you in the hope of learning them.
“I myself am not able to teach you,” answered Dov Ber, “but I know those who could very well.”
- And who is this? - the student was surprised.
“You learn the first three principles from a child, and the remaining seven from a thief.”
And, since the student showed complete misunderstanding with his entire appearance, the Maggid explained:
“It’s easy to learn these three things from a child: to have fun for no reason; don't waste a minute; loudly demand what you want. And the thief has these seven things: to do his work in secret; if you didn’t finish the job one night, return to it the next; love fellow craftsmen; risk your life to achieve a goal; be ready to exchange everything you have for the most seemingly trivial, but new acquisition; do not be afraid of any obstacles; to be faithful to your craft, not even allowing the thought of changing it to another.
Commentary by Rami Shapiro Man loves all kinds of systems: the Ten Commandments, the six hundred and thirteen Mitzvos, the Four Noble Truths, the Eightfold Path, the Twelve Steps... Systems inspire him with confidence: if you do “this”, you will get “that”. Systems create a sense of control over a situation. And who, let’s be honest, would want otherwise? But here we have Rabbi Zusya, who needs to learn the Ten Principles of Worship, and his mentor, the Maggid from Mezhirich, who does not understand how this can be taught at all. Like all great spiritual truths, these Ten Principles cannot be taught—they can only be lived.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru