Someone was waiting for a train at a Swiss train station. The train arrived, but he didn't board it. His friend asked him, “Why don’t you board the train?”
The man replied, “This train is uncomfortable. The next train is luxurious. Every passenger gets their own table and a bed to sleep in... I'm waiting for that train.”
“But that train won’t be here for many hours...”
He replied, “That’s ok. It's worth the wait.”
The train finally arrived, and he boarded it with joy. He enjoyed a good meal at the table. Then, exhausted (partly due to his waiting in the sun for so long), he lay down and slept for several hours. When he awoke, he realized he had boarded the wrong train and had traveled in the wrong direction!
It was too late to take a train home. It was almost Shabbos. He didn’t even have Shabbos clothes to wear! He had to seek a place to stay for Shabbos.
This happened because he was focused on physical pleasures and not on what was truly important, such as the direction the train was headed.
When a person’s primary focus is on attaining pleasures in this world, he will lose sight of the primary purpose for which he was sent to this world, which is to engage in Torah study and mitzvos.
The Ben Ish Chai zt’l tells the following mashal:
Two wealthy people were forever arguing over which one was wealthier. This was important to them because the wealthiest person had the final say in the city. They debated this for years and had many disputes on this topic.
One day, they decided to test it, once and for all. They would both throw coins into the ocean, one coin at a time. Whoever stops first means that he has less money since it is hard for him to lose so many coins. The one who would continue throwing in coins is unquestionably wealthier.
After a while, one of them stopped. He didn’t want to lose all his money. The other one was still throwing in coins. It seemed he had so much money he didn't mind losing all these coins. Everyone was stunned by his immense wealth.
Later it was discovered that he threw in counterfeit coins. That’s why he didn’t mind throwing them all into the ocean.
The nimshal is that when one throws away time, it is a sign he considers time like counterfeit, of little value, and therefore doesn’t mind wasting it.
Because for serving Hashem even just one day, it will be like he served Hashem for five hundred years, the number of years that heaven is above the earth. If he serves Hashem for another day, it will accumulate as though he served Hashem one thousand years, and so on. The reward will definitely be in Olam HaBa because the six thousand years of this world are too few to bestow this large reward that is due for him.
When we think about these concepts, we grasp the preciousness of time. Even for just a few moments of serving Hashem, how much we will gain from it! So we should look forward to each day because it carries so much potential!
Early one morning, the Rebbe of Radoshitz zt’l said, "A special guest arrived today, it's his first visit, and he won't be here again, so I want to honor him properly. The guest is Today. It came today, and it will never come back..."
Reb Eliyahu Lopian zt’l compared time to a travel bag. If one packs his bag neatly, there is plenty of room for all his belongings.
