Address
Beis Tefillah Yonah Avraham
Nahal Refaim 34
Beit Shemesh 99066 Israel
בס"ד
Just One Thing
Rav Yaakov inherited a small neighborhood grocery store. Continuing his father’s long-standing tradition, he closed the shop four full hours before shki'ah every Erev Shabbos. Yet week after week, the scene at home was identical: twenty minutes before candle lighting, Rav Yaakov would rush through the front door, quickly shower, and throw on his Shabbos clothes—finishing just in time to stand next to his wife as she lit the candles.
Because he was never home during the afternoon, his wife worked extra hard to prepare the food, clean the house, and care for the children on her own.
After six months of this exhausting routine, his wife finally asked: “Yaakov, you close the shop so early. What could possibly keep you so long every single Erev Shabbos?”
Rav Yaakov sighed: “It’s true that I lock the doors early. But inevitably, as soon as the key turns, someone comes running up and knocking. It could be a widow, a child, a ba’al simcha, an elder, a poor person, or even the Mayor. I gently explain that we are closed, but they hold up a single finger and mouth the words through the glass: ‘Just one thing!’”
In Psalm 27 (L'David Hashem Ori), which we recite daily throughout the season of Elul and Tishrei, King David declares:
There appears to be a striking contradiction in this Psalm. We open by asking for "just one thing"—to dwell in Hashem's house. Yet as the Psalm unfolds, our requests multiply: we ask for salvation, protection from enemies, shelter in times of trouble, joy, and triumph!
Why do we start with a single request when we actually want so much more?
If we were to present our complete "shopping list" to Hashem right at the outset, Divine Justice would strictly evaluate whether we are truly worthy of receiving such immense gifts. So instead, we knock at the door asking for just one simple thing—permission to enter the House of Hashem and stand in His presence.
Once Hashem opens the door and lets us inside, His infinite mercy takes over. Just like the compassionate shopkeeper, Hashem allows us to unfold our entire list and ask for all our needs!
As we enter Yom Kippur, we must carry this realization with us. Throughout Elul and the Ten Days of Repentance, Hashem has drawn close to us, inviting an unparalleled level of intimacy. There is no limit to the blessings we can request—for our families, our health, our spiritual growth, and our livelihood.
Once we stand inside the gates of rachamim, we can freely present everything we have been "shopping" for all year long, confident in Hashem’s ultimate love and mercy.