"I hate making decisions!" Sammy said in frustration to his mother one evening. "I'm always scared that I'll make the wrong choice."

"I know, I feel the same way," his mother sighed. "But what world-shaking decisions did you have to make today, Sammy?"

"Well, remember there was a flood and a lot of books in our school's library got ruined? Today I was asked to organize the class fundraising campaign to replenish the library shelves, and I have to decide on the best way to do it. Should I make a sponsored walk or a swim or a climb, or should we have a raffle, or maybe a bazaar? Which way do you think would raise the most money?"

"Well," Sammy's mother responded, "I suppose that whatever you do depends on how hard your classmates work to make it a success. But I think you should choose that which you think you'd most enjoy doing."

"Oh, I don't know, they all seem to be fun. I wish I had something to help me decide—like the Urim Vetumim."

"Tell me more about the Urim Vetumim," his mother said. "It sounds interesting!"

"We just learnt about it in our weekly Torah portion class," Sammy explained. "The Urim Vetumim was a parchment that had the name of G‑d written on it, and it was placed inside the breastplate that the High Priest wore.

"The breastplate had twelve precious stones, one for each tribe. Each of these stones was engraved with the name of one of the tribes. Now, when the leader of the Jewish people would have a question, he would go and ask it to the High Priest. Letters on the stones on the breastplate would light up and give the answer. The Urim Vetumim was like the battery that powered the stones."

"Wow, that's really amazing!" Sammy's mother exclaimed. "That means that the Jewish people would always know the right thing to do. Too bad we don't have the Urim Vetumim any more. They might give us the answers to quite a few of our current problems! And also you could ask the Urim Vetumim what to do for the fundraising campaign."

"I know," sighed Sammy. "Wouldn't that be amazing? But actually, I think they only used the Urim Vetumim for big important questions, like if they should go to war or not. The king and the High Priest had to do the asking. I don't think the king or the High Priest would have the time to worry about my fundraising campaign…"

"You are quite right," said his mother. "The Urim Vetumim was only used for very major things. For everyday life you have to look at different sides to a problem, sometimes consult different people, in some cases ask a rabbi..."

"That's all true," said Sammy. "And I suppose there are some decisions that I have to make for myself anyway. I think I've got the idea of what will be best. Thank you for listening to me, Mum; that was very helpful—you're almost as good as the Urim Vetumim!"