Three Times A Day

I heard the following parable from my master, the Baal Shem Tov:

A great king once announced that any request presented to him would be granted. Many people came with petitions, some asking for silver, some for gold, some for high positions.

But there was one wise man who made a very different request. He asked the king if he could have permission to speak to him three times a day.

The king was very pleased with this unusual request, seeing that this wise man valued conversation with the king even more than gold and riches. He therefore decreed that when this wise man would have access to the king, he would pass through and have access to all the king's treasuries, taking whatever he desired without restraint.

The parallel is obvious.

(Rebbe Yaakov Yosef of Polonoye)