The Russian Tsar’s Pathetic Request - Rabbi Shlomo Landau

When revolutionaries overthrew the Russian Tsar, they took his throne, seized his wealth, and locked him in a prison cell in Tobolsk. Imprisoned under harsh conditions, the former ruler of Russia begged his captors for two extra potatoes a day. News of his request spread across the country, and people laughed at him. The man who'd once commanded an empire was now begging for two potatoes. But when the Chofetz Chaim heard this, he shared that he didn't laugh. "Why would I?" said the Chofetz Chaim. The Tsar had lost everything. His enemies controlled his future. Two potatoes were all he could hope to get. But us? We stand before the master of the universe, who tells us, "Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it." Harchev picha v'amalehu. Hashem invites us to ask. He encourages us to dream. He has no limits. Yet, what do we ask for? A little more money? A little more comfort? A little more convenience? Two more potatoes? The Tsar's request made perfect sense. The real question is, what's our excuse? We're children of the Melech Malchei Hamlachim, the King of Kings. When we stand before Hashem, the question isn't how much he can give. The question is whether we remember whose children we are.