Your Chicken Please.

G-d wants your chicken!

Let me explain. The old story goes that a Loyalty Officer banged on the rickety door of Yankel the peasant’s hut. When poor Yankel opened, the Office demanded: “Would you give away 1,000 head of cattle to the Czar if he needed it?”

“Of course!” answered Yankel.

“And if he needed 50 sheep, would you gladly give them away?”

“In an instant!” replied Yankel.

“And if he wanted one chicken, would give it to him?”

“Not a chance,” declared Yankel.

“1,000 heads of cattle yes, 50 sheep yes, one chicken no?!” demanded the Loyalty Officer.

“That’s right,” said Yankel. “Because I have one chicken.”

When it comes to our Jewish obligations – both to G-d and to each other – it’s that one chicken that makes all the difference. Noble intentions and aspirations of perfection are as valuable as the peasant’s pledge of 1,000 heads of cattle. It means and changes nothing. But that one chicken…that’s real.

That’s why it’s so easy to dream and plan and aspire to lofty goals. Because they’re too lofty, undoable and unattainable, they pose no threat to the status quo and require no effort – why start what you can’t finish? – and thus you encounter no inner resistance. It’s easy and fun! “Sure I’ll give the Czar all my cattle (if I had any!)”

But should you ever start considering “giving away the chicken”, expect epic resistance. Because a chicken you have. If you set lower, more practical goals, the temptation to abandon them becomes almost unbearable. Not because they’re too big – because they’re too doable. And that means you have to them. And that means you have to change. And deep inside of each of us is a little rascal who hates change and flees from it like a child from homework.

So know what to expect: if you resolve to become the best parent, the best spouse, the best friend, the best Jew – it’ll be fun and easy, because it’s too lofty.

But if you resolve to take serious little steps to improving – called Mitzvahs in Hebrew – expect a battle. So prepare for battle if you resolve to talk softer for one week; swallow anger on weekends; put on Tefillin three times a week; come to Shul one Shabbat a month; call your mother every Tuesday; buy your wife a card and write something in it; eat only Kosher on Sundays; attend the Gala Banquet and Concert on Sunday; you get the idea. Because they’re doable and that little rascal likes to dream, not do.

So whenever you find yourself afloat soaring aspirations, remind yourself: Land safely, put your feet on the ground, and go give G-d your chicken.

Shabbat Shalom, good Shabbos! 

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