22 Jul MATTOS-MASEI: DON’T DEAL WITH PROBLEMS; AVOID THEM ALTOGETHER

There is a parable
about a bridge that
lacked a railing. Many people fell off,
resulting in broken arms and legs. A
solution was desperately needed. One
‘wise’ person suggested, “Let’s build a
hospital under the bridge so those hurt
will receive immediate treatment.”
A wiser person said there is a better
solution: erect a railing on the bridge.
That way, people won’t fall off and will
not need medical assistance.
How much better it is when the problems
are avoided from the onset.
On this note, we share another parable:
Residents of a small village decided
that it was time to replace their elderly
wagon driver. The driver had served
the community for many years, but he
couldn’t keep up with the townspeople’s
needs. They told him it was time for him
to retire, and they would hire a younger
wagon driver to take his place.
The older wagon driver replied, “I will

test your candidate. If I find him to be
wise and clever and capable for the
position, I will abandon my post to him.
However, if I find him incompetent, I
refuse to give up my post.”
The people agreed
to the condition and
brought the young
wagon driver to
the veteran wagon
driver to be tested.
The elderly wagon
driver asked the
young man, “What
will you do if your
wagon gets stuck
in the mud and you
can’t get it out?”
“I will tell
everyone to get off the wagon. That will
make the wagon lighter, and the horses
will be able to pull out of the mud.”
“Good answer, but what will you do if
that doesn’t work?”
“I will have people push the wagon from

behind. Together, they should be able to
get the wagon out of the mud.”
“But what will you do if that doesn’t
work either?”

The young
wagon driver
admitted that
he didn’t know
the answer. The
elderly wagon
driver said,
“If you don’t
know, then you
aren’t worthy
to be the town’s
wagon driver.
I remain the
town’s official
wagon driver.”
“I accept your verdict,” the young man
said. “But please tell me so I will know
in the future. What does a professional
wagon driver do when the wagon is
caught in the mud and there seems to be
no way to get it out?”
The veteran driver replied, “A
professional wagon driver doesn’t
run his horse into the mud in the first
place.”
The lesson is that when one finds
himself in a quagmire, there are ways
and solutions to fix the problem, but
how much better it would be if this
situation was completely avoided.
How and where can we use this
counsel?
One place is related to chinuch. Reb
Michoel Ber Weissmandl, zt’l told the
following parable:
People wanted to transfer merchandise
over a border without needing to pay
taxes, and they came up with the
following idea: It was permitted to
bring a coffin over the border if people
wanted to be buried in the other
country. So, they began to make mock
funerals. They placed contraband in
the coffin, walked with the coffin as
if it were a levayah, and, using this
method, smuggled the merchandise
into the neighboring country.
This worked very well for a while, but
on one occasion, the border police told
them to open the coffin. The guilty
people cried and pleaded with the
police to free them and forgive them.
The police replied, “If you had cried
before, you wouldn’t need to cry

now.” The police
explained that when
they saw that no
one was crying at
the funeral, they
suspected that
something was off.
The police said,
“Had you cried at
the funeral, you
wouldn’t need to cry now. But since you
didn’t cry before, you are forced to cry
now.”
Reb Michoel Ber Weissmandl explained
that when it comes to chinuch habanim,
it is advisable to daven with tears before
problems occur. When there are tears
first, this helps that tears shouldn’t need
to be shed afterwards.
The lesson also applies to the care we
should have to educate children, and to
raise them with good chinuch. It takes
time, effort, and money to be mechanech
children, but it is better when these
efforts are done before there are troubles,
r’l.
Another example to consider is health. It
is easier to maintain good health than to
cure an illness. Being cautious initially is
wiser than fixing problems that can arise
afterwards, chalilah.
This, too, applies to tefillah. The Gemara
(Shabbos 32.) says, “A person should
always daven that he doesn’t become
ill.” The Gemara explains that one
doesn’t need special merits to remain
healthy. But once he becomes ill, he
needs greater merits to become well. So,
one is advised to daven beforehand so
that he shouldn’t become sick.
Another area to consider is machlokes,
disputes, r’l. It is better to be cautious in
the beginning and avoid machlokes than
fix the problem afterwards. Although
a machlokes can be amended – you
can make up and forget the past – but
often the scars of the dispute remain.
How much better it is when people are
cautious from the onset.
Yet, another example of our conversation
is teshuvah. Hashem accepts those who
return to Him. It is possible to fix the
past; however, fortunate are those who
never sinned!
Our topic is also related to technology.
There are people who have fallen into
the pitfalls of technology. They cry, they
mope, and they try to change. It is much
better to be cautious beforehand.