Wine of Gold

AI generated art

Not too long ago, on the mountains not too far from Jerusalem, there was a small town called Shachen-Ya. This town had very nice neighbours, and all wished to be kind and loving to one another. They believed in G-d and that He had asked them to simply love one another. And so they did. When things were good, they cared for each other and celebrated together. When things were tough, they helped each other and cried together. Some passersby said that there was so much love and empathy in this town, that you could feel it in the air. 

One day, a wanderer from far away walked through the town. The whole town came out to welcome him. Saying hello, asking for his name. Some offered him soup, some offered cake. At least five families had opened their home to him, offering to wash his face, his feet, and rest. This wanderer enjoyed the company of these friendly people so much that he decided to leave them with his most precious treasure: a very expensive bottle of white wine with real pieces of gold in it. 

The town’s people had never seen gold before. They had heard of it being something rare and precious. They decided, being so considerate and understanding of one another, that the precious bottle will be displayed in the town hall. A carpenter built a beautiful case of the bottle to stand on. The glass maker made a protective case to cover over the bottle so that no one would accidentally knock it down. They were determined - they will take very good care of this wine of gold. 

From all across the town people came to look at the wine of gold. It was beautiful. They had never seen that type of sparkle and shimmer in any other drink before. In fact, they never ever saw that type of glow in anything they had ever seen before. But the little parts of gold kept sinking to the bottom. And so, the mayor decided that twice a day they will open the glass case and shake the bottle so all could see the sparkling gold pieces floating in the wine of gold. Thus, twice daily, morning and evening, many of the town’s people would gather together to watch the shaking of the wine of gold. 

But “wine of gold” is not a good name, they thought, and soon enough the bottle was referred to as “gold.” As time passed, and children who had only heard of this wanderer became all grown up, some of the details of the story were forgotten. Now, the bottle was no longer a bottle of wine with gold pieces. Now, the twons' people were sure that the wanderer had said - the wine itself is the gold. 

Many years have passed. The generation that lived through the “giving of the bottle” have already passed away long ago. Yet through the generations one thing was preserved - the shaking of the bottle was done every single day. All would come to witness the Gold. it was no longer something of beauty to behold - this Gold has become a myth, a source of power, a source of beauty, a source for curiosity. The people of the town grow to depend on the shaking of the Gold. They did not remember how to find beauty in other places. How could they witness anything as beautiful as those particles of shimmering yellow substance floating so slowly through the golden golden liquid - ho…. It looked like heaven, and they needed to see it every single day or they could not find beauty in their life. 

One day, a traveler came into town. The whole town came out to welcome him. Saying hello, asking for his name. Some offered him soup, some offered cake. At least five families had opened their home to him, offering to wash his face, his feet, and rest. This traveler enjoyed the company of these friendly people. Some things never change. In their hospitality, the towns’ people suggested that he join the shaking ceremony in the morning. 

As the sun was rising, the town’s people were gathering around the town hall to witness the morning shake. With anticipation in the air and excitement in their stride, the traveller joined the yearning mob. As the bottle was brought out, all eyes were fixed - the shaking was about to commence. With a twist and a shack, a shiver and a wiggle, a flip and a turn, the bottle was held up high for all to witness the swirling pieces of gold as they were magically floating in the wine. “Look at the Gold” they whispered. “Aweeeeeee” and “ohhhhhh” were sounded al around. 

Confused, the traveler asked “why is everyone so excited about this wine bottle?”

“Wine bottle?” one town’s man responded with a jolt “what you are seeing is Gold!”

“I can see the pieces of gold in it, but it is a wine bottle - you can drink it.”

“WHAT?” the shock could not be contained. How can this traveler be so rude to minimise the magnificent beauty of this Gold? “This is not wine, this is Gold. We got it from generations ago. We’ve been worshiping it ever since!”

The traveler's confusion only grew. He had travelled the world, seen metales of all types, and drank wine in all colours and bottles. He knew he was right, and he did not understand, why would they choose to worship the wine as if it was the gold itself? He tried explaining that these are just pieces of gold, if a metal found in the ground, but they would not listen. For generations their ancestors were worshiping this Gold - this bottle filled with this special liquid. 

The traveller thanked his hosetes and left towards his next destination. But the strange confusion between wine and gold was something that slowly started plaguing his mind. How can a town of such nice people not see the difference between the wine and the gold? An idea came to his mind.  

After a few months the traveller returned to Shachen-Ya with a bag of gold pieces. He stood at the steps of the town hall and waited for the sun to go down. As the sun was setting, the people of the town started gathering around the town hall, where the traveller was sitting. As the bottle was brought out of its case, the traveller stood up and exclaimed “this is a bottle of wine with gold in it!” he added before anyone could stop him, raising his hands up “this is white wine, and this” pointing with his eyes to his right hand “this is gold!”

The silence was pierced by a question of a young boy “what do you mean? How can they be separated?” all at once murmuring and whispering spread through the air. “What they all thought was Gold was not gold at all?” “Who is this man?” “What does he think he is doing speaking this nonsense”

The traveller started walking through the crowd, letting them see up close the difference between wine and pieces of gold. First they were quite, then a murmur of anger started spreading “how dare he come into their town, after they had been so nice to him, only to try to tell them that their Gold isn’t Gold.” others said he is not telling the truth, even though it was clear to see - he had a bottle of white wine, he has a handful of pieces of gold - and he even showed them how it can be mixed together to produce such a bottle of wine of gold. 

The confusion bred anger. The anger clouded their judgment even more. Some people were angry with the traveller, some with their parents, some with the wanderer who had gifted them this present. Some were angry with themselves for believing such foolish stories. But a town filled with acceptance and love can overcome anything. And so they did.

For some it took moment, for others a few days, but they had all come around to understand that they have been in awe of what they called Gold. But Gold was just the little pieces. What they were truly admiring was the process, the ceremony, the mixing of the wine with the sparkling metal. It was the process of witnessing the little pieces floating through the wine that has mesmerised them through all these generations. There was no need to cancel this daily celebration. 

When they learned to adjust their understanding, they were able to discover a whole new world. The traveller had left them a bag of gold pieces. They used it to adorn their clothes, their homes, their jewellery. Now they were able to find such beauty all around. The braver young adults travelled to a neighbouring town to bring back more gold and in their search they found that when you leave the comfort of your own town, there are many treasures to be found. They returned with gold and other gems.  

A note for contemplation: we must not confuse between Divine sparks and the things they are carried in. Each person, every thing, carries in it a divine spark - the particle that brings anything into existence. For people, those who achieve higher awareness have the ability to start finding their inner gems, gold and divine sparks. 

When we try finding our own sparks, or notice them in others, we need to make sure we do not confuse the wine with the gold - to not confuse matter and mind with our Divine soul. When we look at someone else that has their Divine soul more visible - we must not forget that they are simply people too. 

We can all refine ourselves to a point when we have full awareness of our inner treasures, thus allowing us to better align with the will of G-d. However, achieving such a high level of alignment does not mean one stops being a person. One does not become G-d by being able to find the sparks of G-d that are hiding in them. Even the most righteous of people, and those who were considered as Massiah of their times, are all people, like you and me. The only difference is that they were able to find the gold and the treasure that G-d has planted in them. 

Searching for that gold and for those treasures is a path we are all invited to take. Refining our soul and finding our alignment with G-d and the Divine is a path that is open to us all. No prior prophet, rituouse leader, or messianic figure can do this work for you. If you want to find your treasures - you must dig for them yourself. The great leaders and messianic figures have set a path for us to follow - but it is our path to walk.