The Two Roads

A long time ago, the tzaddik Rabbi Yehoshua ben Chananya was walking down a certain road. He was going to a city that he had never gone to before.

As Rabbi Yehoshua ben Chananya was walking, he saw a fork in the road. Rabbi Yehoshua ben Chananya did not know on which road he should continue walking. One road was very nice and smooth, but the other road was all bumpy and full of rocks.

Rabbi Yehoshua ben Chananya did not know which road led to the city. So, Rabbi Yehoshua ben Chananya asked a little boy, who was sitting on a stone, right where the road split.

The little boy answered, “Both roads go to the city.”

Rabbi Yehoshua ben Chananya then asked, “So what is the difference between the two roads?”

“Oh,” the boy answered. “This road,” he said, pointing to the smooth road, “is short and long. The other road is long and short.”

Rabbi Yehoshua ben Chananya thought that the little boy was joking around and having fun, because what he said did not make sense.

“These road are both long and both short, so they are really the same,” he thought to himself. “Just, the smooth road is nice, and the rocky road is not so nice. So, I might as well travel on the nice, smooth road.”

Rabbi Yehoshua ben Chananya then continued on his way on the smooth road.

After travelling for a short distance, Rabbi Yehoshua ben Chananya reached the end of the road. The road did not lead to his destination. Rather, there was a big wall, and then a field.

After the field, there was another wall. Then there was a whole bunch of rocks—even more rocks than there were on the bumpy road! After that, there was another field, followed by a big fence.

Only after Rabbi Yehoshua ben Chananya would climb over all the fences and walls, and cross over all the fields, would he reach his destination. “Oy vey,” Rabbi Yehoshua ben Chananya thought. “I cannot climb over those fences and walls. That would take a long time.

“Now I understand what the little boy meant. This road is short, because it gets you so far in a short time. But to actually reach the city takes much longer. Maybe the other road, even though it is very bumpy, doesn’t have all these walls and fences in the way. That would make it long and short.”

So, Rabbi Yehoshua ben Chananya went back to the fork in the road, and asked the boy who was still there, “What happens if you go on the bumpy road?”

“Well,” the boy answered, “I told you—it’s the long-short road. The road is really longer, but since you don’t need to climb the walls and fences, it is shorter. So, it’s the long-short road.”

Rabbi Yehoshua ben Chananya smiled and gave the little boy a brocha. “I am so proud of you,” he said. “You have learned Torah so well, that not only are you well versed in Torah, but even your talking was affected by it.”

And then Rabbi Yehoshua ben Chananya went on his way…