In this week's Parsha we read about the giving of the Torah on Har Sinai and the ten commandments. One of the ten commandments is the prohibition on coveting things that others have. This is a very difficult commandment to abide by because we are almost naturally jealous of others. We constantly compare ourselves and in our day and age we are constantly confronted with all the great things we see everyone else has and does. The more we are able to keep focus on what we have and not look around to see what others have the easier it will be to overcome this jealousy. 

We need to always remind ourselves and refresh our minds and hearts that whatever we have is the best for us to accomplish our mission in this world. It is also important to remember the lesson that we were always taught, that we never really know what is going on in someone else's house (marriage or bank account :). 

Rabbi Biderman related the following story: 

There was a young woman "Sarah" who had given birth to her first child. She was very excited and proceeded to go shopping for a stroller and crib for her first born son. Although she was raised in a family that was very comfortable financially, she and her husband did not have very much money. When they went into the store they began looking for a stroller and they realized that they would have a hard time finding something that would work within their budget. They made their way to the cheapest strollers available, but she was a bit embarrassed to buy the cheapest as she would need to walk around with this and everyone would see her. They decided that they wouldn't buy the cheapest model but a model that was a bit more expensive (but still at the low end) and instead they would save money on something else. Sarah was obviously upset she couldn't provide the best for her newborn son but she understood this was their current situation. As they were making their way over to look for a crib to buy, they saw a woman walk in with her daughter (a new mother as well) and they headed straight to the most expensive strollers available. They chose one of the most expensive models and then proceeded to look for a crib as well. Sarah's heart fell and she couldn't believe her eyes, how could it be that she was in such an unfortunate situation. Sarah continued to observe the mother and her daughter pick out the finest crib in the store. The mother then turned to her daughter and said that maybe they should measure the size of the crib to make sure it will fit in the baby's room along with his oxygen tank. Sarah then realized how fortunate she was to have a healthy baby even if she couldn't provide him with the best stroller and crib.

Shabbat Shalom,

Heath