Every night, Zissel served her husband Mendel the same awful dinner: Burnt chicken and burnt potatoes. One evening, Zissel stayed in the kitchen for hours cooking. Mendel could hear his wife working with vigor. Pots and pans clicked and clanged harmoniously. Imagining the delicacies that Zissel must be preparing, Mendel’s mouth watered. “She is taking so long…” he mumbled. “Finally I will eat a gourmet dinner!”

Triumphantly, Zissel emerged from the kitchen. She placed a plate before her famished husband, and to his horror, it was the same burnt chicken and burnt potatoes that she served every night!

—Heard from Rochel Holtzkenner

Comment:

Every morning, G‑d waits for us to pray, but we often don’t perform this service with proper intention. If we delay our prayers, they must reflect proper preparation, and should not merely be the same “burnt chicken” we’ve been saying daily.