Once, a great rebbe was walking through the village and came upon the town’s shoemaker.

Early in the morning on the way to prayers the rebbe saw the shoemaker diligently hammering away, mending old shoes.

In the afternoon, on his way to the study house, the rebbe passed by the shoemaker again and saw him sewing a leather patch onto another shoe.

At midnight the rebbe rose for meditation, on his way to the prayer hall the rebbe passed by a third time and saw the shoemaker still at his work table fixing shoes by candle light.

“Why are you still working so late at night?” Asked the rebbe.

“You see the candle?” The old shoemaker asked, “as long as their is wick and wax left to burn I will use its light to mend.”

“And so it is with us,” said the rebbe.” “As long as there is wick in our candles we must never cease using our light to mend what is broken.”

As the New Year approaches, use this time mend the broken parts of your life.

#morninginspiration #elul #5779