Stemming the Tide
I mention the sins of my past in order to provide a lesson for others. I pray that the merit of preventing others from sinning serve as atonement for my sins.
A man once did something terrible to me. He blamed me falsely and caused me untold anguish. I was extremely angered by his acts. My inner voice cried out, “David, you must protect your reputation! Answer him like he deserves! Tell him he’s going to get it from Heaven!” But Father, who heard about the incident, instructed me to forego my honor and forgive the man. He told me to remain silent. The man would surely calm down, and peace would be restored. But I was young and foolish and did not obey my wise father’s counsel. The quarrel between us swelled to mammoth proportions, stretching out for the duration of four years.
Then, one day, I decided to grab the bull by the horns. If I would not call a halt to the fight, it would continue interminably. To this end, I went over to my adversary’s home. I knocked on his door with trembling, but determined, hands. When he opened it, I immediately related that I wanted to make peace with him, explaining that I had come to appease him. In a completely benevolent manner, above and beyond the call of duty, I took full responsibility for our dispute. I apologized profusely for hurting him, in spite of the fact that the reverse was the case.
When the man heard my “confession,” he was dumbstruck. He immediately hurried to amend my statement. “No, no,” he cried out, “I am to blame for the whole thing. I am the one who started the argument.”
Had I controlled my anger four years earlier, as Father had advised, I would have spared myself a good deal of mental anguish. The man would most likely have come to ask forgiveness of his own accord.
Every challenge one faces is like an ocean wave. The best way to confront it is by lowering his head until it passes. Just as it is futile to fight the furious waves of the sea, so it is fruitless to oppose challenges which come one’s way. It is preferable to accept challenges than to attempt to combat them. Had I understood this earlier, I would have bent my head toward this man and overcome the nisayon of the furious waves of anger.
