There is a story told by Rabbi Albert Lewis about a man named Joe. During his lunch break at work, Joe took a seat on a bench next to a fellow worker and began rummaging in his paper sack. He pulled out a sandwich, unwrapped it, and muttered, “Yich, Peanut butter!” He opened the next sandwich, examined it and again muttered in disgust, “Ugh, peanut butter!” Joe left both sandwiches uneaten. His buddy, who was greatly enjoying a cheese sandwich, sympathetically asked, “If you don’t like peanut butter sandwiches, why don’t you ask your wife to fix you some other kind?” Joe frowned at him and said, “Wife? I packed these lunches myself!”
Our tendency is to blame others for the disappointments we encounter in our lives. The hard truth, though, is that, often, our actions, our choices, and our decisions led to those disappointments. Part of the teshuvah process is personal accountability, taking responsibility for the consequences of our behavior. If we don’t like peanut butter, it’s time to prepare something else.
— Rabbi Yoshi Zweiback
