One day, King Solomon decided to humble Benaiah ben Yehoyada, his most trusted minister. He said to him, “Benaiah, there is a certain ring that I want you to bring to me. I wish to wear it for Sukkot (a Jewish festival) and I give you six months to find it.”
“If it exists anywhere on earth, your majesty,” replied Benaiah, “I will find it and bring it to you, but what makes the ring so special?”
“It has magic powers,” answered the king. “If a happy man looks at it, he becomes sad, and if a sad man looks at it, he becomes happy.”
Solomon knew that no such ring existed in the world, but he wished to give his minister a little taste of humility.
Six months passed and still Benaiah had no idea where he could find the ring. On the night before Sukkot, he decided to take a walk in one of the poorest quarters of Jerusalem.
He passed by a merchant who had begun to set out the day’s wares on a shabby carpet. “Have you by any chance heard of a magic ring that makes the happy wearer forget his joy and the broken-hearted wearer forget his sorrows?” asked Benaiah.
He watched the old merchant take a plain gold ring from his carpet and engrave something on it. When Benaiah read the words on the ring, his face broke out in a wide smile.
That night the entire city welcomed the holiday of Sukkot with great festivity. “Well, my friend,” said Solomon, “have you found what I sent you after?” All the ministers laughed and Solomon himself smiled.
To everyone’s surprise, Benaiah held up a small gold ring and declared, “Here it is, your majesty!”
As soon as Solomon read the inscription, the smile vanished from his face. The merchant had written the words “Gam Zeh Ya’avor” – “This too shall pass.”
At that moment Solomon realised that all his wisdom and fabulous wealth and tremendous power were but fleeting things. For those who take great pride in their wealth, possessions, power and accomplishments, it will not matter what they own or what they are owed. What will matter is how many lives you have helped change with the resources you had.
For those who are struggling, living without hope and are in despair, no matter what they are going through today, their troubles are not here to stay, they for sure will also pass away. So don’t lose hope, be of good cheer, hang in there, keep reminding yourself that the dawn will come after every darkness.
Solomon was the Biblical king of Israel (reign circa 970 to 931 BC) most famous for his wisdom and wealth. Perhaps the best known story of his wisdom is the Judgment of Solomon; two women each lay claim to being the mother of the same child. Solomon easily resolved the dispute by commanding the child to be cut in half and shared between the two. One woman promptly renounced her claim, proving that she would rather give up the child than see it killed. Solomon declared the woman who showed compassion to be the true mother, entitled to the child. Image courtesy: https://rainbowstampclub.blogspot.com/