Shabbos Menucha: A Hasidic Parable by MC Complete

Shalom and Menucha were a newlywed Hasidic couple.  They were very happy.  But there was one problem.  Menucha worked very hard to make delicious Shabbos dinners.  But Shalom was so exhausted on Friday night from working and learning Torah all week, that he said Shalom Alechem, Eshses Hayil, Kiddush, Hamotzi, Birkat Hamazon, and promptly collapsed in bed.

This made Menucha so sad that she couldn’t eat any of the food.  She sadly put it all in the refrigerator and served it as leftovers during the week.

It went on like this for a few weeks.  Then one day, Shalom came home with his face glowing.  “My dear wife, you won’t believe it,” he said.

“My dear husband, what is it?” Menucha asked.

“The Rebbe has invited me to learn with him bechevrusa!”

“My dear husband, I am so happy for you!”

When the highly anticipated hour arrived, Shalom was bouncing off the walls with excitement.  The Rebbe greeted Shalom warmly, took two Gemaras off the shelf, opened them to the page, and launched into the most brilliant shiur that Shalom had ever heard.

At first, Shalom sat riveted to his seat, drinking in the words of Torah.  But after a few minutes, something very strange happened.  Shalom began to feel sleepy.  His eyelids started to droop, his head started to nod.  Shalom didn’t understand.  The shiur was so fascinating; why was he struggling to stay awake?

Then Shalom picked up his head and looked at the Rebbe.  He realized that he had fallen asleep with his head in his arms on the Gemara.  He was mortified.   He didn’t know what rock to crawl under.

“What’s the matter, Shalom?” the Rebbe asked.  “Are you embarrassed that you fell asleep in the middle of our chevrusa?”

“Yes,” Shalom admitted.

“If you felt embarrassed to fall asleep while I was feeding you Torah,” the Rebbe said, “how much more so should you feel embarrassed to fall asleep while your wife is feeding you dinner.”