Walking
“I am too busy to think about that right now” or “my work is so strenuous at the moment that I have no time to spend with you”.
Perhaps we have heard this said or perhaps we have even said this ourselves. What we think about much too rarely is ‘what are we busy with, or whom are we busy for?’.
Hassidic Judaism was a 18th century religious revival movement originating in Ukraine, it spread its mysticisms and teaching through telling stories about the rabbis:
As Rabbi Naftali was walking along the edge of a forest late one evening, he encountered a guard. This man worked for a rich man and was supposed to protect his property from burglars at night. “Who are you walking for?” the rabbi asked him. The guard gave the name of his employer.
Then he added as a counter question: “And you, Rabbi, who are you walking for?” The word pierced the pious scholar like an arrow. “I’m not walking for anyone yet,” he stammered awkwardly. For a long time Rabbi Naftali walked up and down next to the guard in silence. “Do you want to become my servant?” he finally asked. “I would like that,” answered the guard, “but what do I have to do?” Rabbi Naftali replied: “To remind me”.
A Chassidic story collected by Martin Buber and translated by Bernhard Schunemann
17 November 2024
