We had some serious drama at our Chabad center recently: three hamsters were on the loose and no one could find them!
We have some pet birds and hamsters in our preschool, which the children love to watch, and feed, and interact with. They’ve been around for a while, but one morning a few weeks ago the preschool director arrived at work and discovered the hamsters had escaped!
We’re still unclear exactly how it happened, but it seems they somehow managed to tip over their cage, which fell off the shelf, and when it landed on the floor the door opened and boom!—freedom.
Now, we couldn’t just have rodents running around the building. But more than that, the teachers were petrified! Jumping at the slightest hint of a scuffle, scared to walk into empty rooms or open any dark closets, constantly hyper vigilant … something had to be done.
Finding those missing critters quickly took on an air or urgency, if only so our teachers could feel calm and at ease.
We searched high and low with no success. The building is not that big, but a second and third day passed with still no sight of the hamsters.
Finally, on the fourth day, our beloved caretaker Henry spotted one of them. You see, they can hide and hide but eventually they’ll need to eat. Henry knew that was their weak spot, so he kept at it until they came looking for food.
Over the next day or two the second and third also made appearances while scavenging for food, and Henry scooped them up and returned them to their cage.
Whew! The hamsters are back home and our teachers and staff can relax and focus on the kids without constantly wondering that a hamster might wander across the floor.
So what’s the lesson here?
First, just as the hamsters can’t survive without food, we can’t survive without Torah. We need it in our lives. We need it for our character development, spiritual refinement, and our relationship with our Creator. No matter how busy or tired we are, it’s vital that we make time and space in our lives for regular Torah study.
But more than that, like the hamsters, we all have weak spots, too. Things we struggle with. For one person it’s finding time and concentration to study Torah. For others it’s parting with their hard-earned money for charity. Maybe it’s avoiding work on Shabbat, sticking to kosher food when away on business, or showing genuine compassion to others.
Interestingly, our weak spots directly correlate with our purpose in this world. We are all reincarnations. Our souls have come back to earth to complete something we did not fully accomplish in a previous lifetime.
So how do we know what that mission is? It’s usually our weak spot; the mitzvah we find most difficult to fulfill.
And when we can identify these weak spots and work to overcome them, we will be on track to fulfill our Divine mission in this world.