Today, the day after Thanksgiving is known as Black Friday with all the sales and all the shopping that goes on. We all savor a bargain. We fill our home and especially our closets and garages with material things we may never even wear or use. But we got it “On Sale!”

There is a story about an American tourist who paid the noted 19th Century Polish rabbi Hofetz Chaim a visit. Astonished to see that the renowned rabbi’s home was only a simple room filled with books, plus a table and a bench, the tourist asked,

“Rabbi, where is your furniture?”

“Where is yours?” replied the rabbi.

“Mine?” asked the puzzled tourist. “But I’m only a visitor here. I’m only passing through.”

“So am I,” said Hofetz Chaim.

How often does the thought, “I’m only passing through this world” ever cross YOUR mind? How about a few times today, Black Friday?

TIME IS THE DRESSING ROOM FOR ETERNITY. IN THE FEW FLEETING DAYS OF LIFE ON THIS PLANET, WE ARE GIVEN THE OPPORTUNITY TO PREPARE FOR ETERNITY!

My Commentary:

This brief exchange between the tourist and Rabbi Hofetz Chaim captures the heart of spiritual simplicity. The rabbi’s humble surroundings were not a sign of poverty, but of perspective. He knew that life on earth is temporary — that we are all travelers simply “passing through.”

The tourist’s assumption reflects the world’s obsession with possessions and comfort, while the rabbi’s reply reflects eternal wisdom: our true home is not here. The things we accumulate may fill a house, but they cannot fill a soul.

Hofetz Chaim’s words challenge us to hold lightly to material things and to focus instead on what endures – faith, kindness, and the legacy of love we leave behind. In the end, the most “furnished” life is one rich in spirit, and not in stuff.