"The Farmer's Three Wishes" - An ancient Jewish parable

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One night, an angel of the Lord awakened a poor farmer.  The angel said, “God has found favor with you, so he would like to reward you as he did for your ancestor Abraham.  As a reward, God will grant you three wishes.  There is only one condition: your neighbor will get a double portion of everything that is given to you.”

The farmer was, of course, amazed by this news, so he woke up his wife and told her all about it.  The farmer’s wife insisted that they test this promise to see if it was actually real and not just a dream.  So, they prayed that God would give them a herd of 1,000 cattle so that they would no longer be poor.

No sooner had they asked this, than they heard the sound of animal noises outside.  They were amazed to see cattle all around the house and in their fields.  For the next two days, the farmer was so thrilled that he spent all his time praising God for his generosity and for making practical provisions for caring for his cattle.

On the third day, while he was on a hill trying to decide where he could build a new barn, he looked across at his neighbor’s field.  There, he saw 2,000 cattle that God had given his neighbor.  Now, instead of a heart filled with joy and gratitude, his heart became filled with envy toward his neighbor.  He could not eat, and he went to bed in a rage.  Instead of focusing on his 1,000 cattle, he could only think of his neighbor’s 2,000 cattle.

The next day, however, he remembered that he could have 2 wishes more.  Therefore, he examined his heart very carefully.  He remembered that he had always wanted descendants to carry on the family name.  Therefore, he prayed for a child.  In just a couple of days, his wife told him that she was pregnant.  Suddenly his heart was once again filled with joy and thanksgiving.  This lasted for the entire pregnancy of his wife.

On the night his first child was born, he was absolutely overjoyed.  The next day, he went to the synagogue to give thanks to God for the child.  He had just finished his prayer of thanksgiving, however, when his neighbor came into the synagogue and said, “Thanks be to God!  Last night my wife gave birth to twin sons!”

The farmer’s joy suddenly left him, and he became filled with rage and envy.  This time, his dark emotions did not leave him.  They only grew worse.  Therefore, late in the evening, he made his third request to God: “Lord, please gouge out my right eye.”  He knew, of course, that his neighbor would then become blind, for the angel had promised the neighbor would receive double of whatever the farmer asked for.

The angel, with tears in his eyes, asked the farmer why he had asked for such a terrible thing.  The farmer replied, “I can’t stand to see my neighbor prosper!  I’ll gladly sacrifice half of my vision for the satisfaction of knowing that he’ll become blind and never be able to look on what he has.”

The angel said, “I’m sorry, but God will not grant your third wish.  It is not because God lacks integrity, but because he is full of mercy.  However, know this, you foolish man, you have brought sadness not only to yourself, but to the very heart of God.”