The Power of Patience

The Power of Patience

A Long time ago, there was a son who was extraordinarily respectful to his father. On his deathbed the father said: “My son, you honored me in my life time and now you must honor me after my death. I command you, if you should ever be overcome by anger you should hold back your angry until the next morning.

After his father’s death, the son was forced to embark on a prolonged journey, which took him to distant lands for tens of years. Unbeknownst to him, the wife he left behind was expecting his child.

After his years of absence, the husband returned home unannounced, hoping to joyously surprise his wife. But as he approached his bedchamber he saw his wife embracing a handsome young man, a stranger. The husband became fiercely jealous and reached for his dagger - when he suddenly remembered the pledge he made to his father: He must hold back his rage overnight.

The next day he was shocked to discover that the young man in his wife’s embrace was none other than his own son, the child that his wife had borne during his long absence. The man was thus saved from tragically slaughtering his own family.

Source: “A Letter for the Ages” Mesorah Publications 1989

The greatest remedy for anger is delay. –Seneca