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Hello friends
Rob, your post about your near-death call in the car crash inspired this. Thank you for that inspiration.
If I am not mistaken, this is a Jewish story. It's a wonderful story my parents told me when I was growing up. Here 'tis:
A man dies and goes to hell. His guardian angel is with him. To his surprise, hell consists of people sitting around...what? No, not a roaring fire. A banquet table! Yes, you got that right. Repeat: In hell, people were seated around a banquet table!
But something was wrong. People were staring obliquely and forlornly at the table, which was groaning with the weight of the food loaded on top of it.
"Why are the people staring here as if they have nothing to eat, and why are they so depressed?" the man asked his guardian angel. The angel responded silently, pointing to the people. One closer look and the man saw it all: Those poor people. They sat there with their arms tied to broomsticks. They couldn't bend their elbows in order to feed themselves. So all they could do was to stare at the food and feel very starved and very teased/deprived. And very, very sorry for themselves. Who wouldn't feel that way, under the circumstances?
Well, up to heaven the man went with his guardian angel. What do you know: There's the same darned scene! In heaven, just as in hell, people were sitting around a table loaded with banquet food. And just like in hell, their arms were tied with broomsticks.
But there was one difference:
In heaven, everybody fed their neighbor.
And everybody was glowing with happiness.
Please pass this on! It's a story of creativity and hope. It's a way to resurrect the beauty from the ashes of life's trials-by-fire. May all good things be in your life! And may we each experience the joy of feeding our neighbor.
