“And the Eternal took Abraham outside and He said to him,look up,please,at the heavens and count the stars, if you can count them. And He said to him, so too, will be your descendants.”(Bereshit 15:5)
The Baal Shem Tov explained that the descendants of Abraham are like the stars. We see the stars from a great distance and they appear to be tiny specks but in reality up close they are gigantic.
The Baal Shem Tov once dreamt that when he would die he would be buried next to the baker of the town. This puzzled him, so he went to see the Baker the next day. He wanted to know what special quality this baker had that would merit him to be buried next to him. After a few hours of analyzing the baker, the Baal Shem Tov couldn’t find anything special, so he asked him. The baker said that his life was quite ordinary, nothing extraordinary and he started to recount his day. First he would wake up at 3am and go to the bakery to get the dough rising, then he would go to his elderly parents home at 5 am and get them bathed, dressed, gave them breakfast and saw to their needs. At 6 am he was back at the bakery putting the breads in the oven and at 7 am he would open the shop. At 12 he would go back to check on his parents and take care of them. At 2 he was back in the bakery till 5. Then he would go back to his parents home and take care of all their needs. By 7 he was home, took care of his family and by 9 he was asleep.
The Baal Shem Tov rubbed his forehead, the baker asked him why he asked? The Baal Shem Tov answered, “I came here because I had a dream and I wanted to know what merit you had that would allow you to be buried next to me, but after listening to your level of Kivud Avaim (honor to parents), I now question myself of what merit I have to deserve to be buried next to you?”
We never know what greatness someone else holds, we should always look at others through these lenses and in this way everyone will seem to us as a great star.
#greatness
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