IMBALANCE! on The Ship of the Truth Seeker Crew.

By Rabbi Yosef Edery, Sanhedrin Advisor

A man embarked on a long voyage across the vast ocean.

He was assigned a comfortable cabin, complete with a bed, chairs, and a sturdy wooden desk. At first, everything seemed fine—until the ship set sail.

The moment the waters grew restless, his cabin turned into chaos. Chairs slid across the floor, the bed shifted, and his belongings tumbled out of drawers. Disturbed by this disorder, he called for the crew.

"Something is wrong with my room!" he insisted.

The crew arrived and carefully examined the space. They tightened bolts, secured furniture, and gave their best effort to stabilize everything. Yet, the moment they stepped away, the same issues returned.

"Sir," they finally explained, "you’re on a boat. The movement is natural. If you don’t lock the drawers and secure your belongings, things will keep shifting."

The man struggled to accept their words. He had expected stability.

He had imagined that his room would be solid and unmoving, like a house on land.

Still uneasy, he left his cabin to eat in the dining hall. As he sat down, he noticed his food sliding across the table, drinks spilling, and waiters struggling to keep everything steady.

Frustrated, he once again called for assistance.

"This is unacceptable!" he exclaimed. "Can’t you do something about this?"

The chef and waiters approached him. "Sir," they said gently, "you are on a boat. The waves are part of the journey. The sooner you understand that, the easier it will be to navigate the experience. You must learn to move with the ship, not fight against it."

Still, the man remained in denial. He kept searching for explanations, trying to fix what wasn’t broken.

Day after day, he woke up determined to "solve" the rocking of the boat, convinced it was some kind of mistake.

But then, one evening, he stepped onto the deck and looked out at the endless ocean.

He felt the rhythm of the waves, the power of the wind, the greatness of the sea. And for the first time, he understood:

This was not his ship.

This was Hashem’s ship.

Like Noach in the Ark, he had been placed in this vessel by divine will.

The waves, the motion, the unpredictable waters—they were all part of the journey Hashem had designed for him.

Suddenly, his frustration melted away. He no longer feared the rocking. He no longer demanded explanations. Instead, he learned to move with the ship, to embrace the voyage, to use the motion to his advantage—like a seasoned sailor who swings from the ropes, like a pirate who masters the wind.

The ship had never been broken. It was exactly as it was meant to be.

And with that realization, he finally found peace.