path of faith

There's a wonderful story in the Babylonian Talmud (Sanhedrin 37a), about Rabbi Zera, who was crippled, likely by Spinal Bifida or burns:

"Some thugs lived in Rabbi Zera's neighborhood, to whom he would come around and get them to mend their ways. The other rabbis mocked his efforts.

"When Rabbi Zera died peacefully, the thugs said, 'Until now, our little cripple was praying for mercy on us. Now, who will pray for mercy on us?' They shuddered in their hearts and changed their ways."

I imagine that Rabbi Zera's life was hard. I observed the challenges of Spinal Bifida and other paralyses, and I wonder how Rabbi Zera was able to get around the neighborhood. In the developing world, which is like the world of the Talmud, cripples tend to get about on their hands, which become thick with callouses. Was Rabbi Zera padding about on hands and knees, trying to talk to these thugs? Did they bully him? After all, he was very wise, and they were very strong. I bet he was afraid.

What's more, none of the other rabbis helped him in any way. They probably said he was wasting his time. Like most people today, the rabbis probably were not very comfortable with disabilities, and tended to avoid Rabbi Zera. Maybe they preferred to ignore him and the work he was doing.

And the people he was ministering to were too tough to show that they appreciated his work. His whole life, he probably never thought that he was having any effect. When he died, I wonder if he was troubled: Did he have doubts that what he did was worthwhile? Do you think he thought he wasted his time?

Here is the way of faith: Sometimes we pray for things that we can never see in our life-time. We can spend our whole lives not knowing whether all our efforts were worth it. We certainly spend our whole lives not knowing whether there really is God. We go on faith. You have to trust that what you're doing is important, whether it's feeding AIDS patients, studying the Bible, or making a safe home for your children. The simple fact is you'll never know what the final result is. Like Rabbi Zera, you've got to keep going and trust in your instincts to do the right thing.