The Remedy for Bacon

David was a baal teshuvah. He was studying with a rabbi who was helping him to learn about Judaism and the Torah. He had made a lot of progress. He began to eat only kosher food, and he made an effort to keep Shabbos the best he could.

One morning, an irresistible smell wafted in through the vent. The neighbor in the apartment next door was cooking bacon. David couldn't help himself. He ran to the neighbor's door and knocked.

"Can I have some of that bacon?" The neighbor was amused, but generously shared his breakfast.

Afterward, David was tormented by guilt. He was sure that God was going to strike him dead for what he did. Desperate, he called his rabbi.

"Rabbi...I did something terrible," David said.

"David, what's the matter? What did you do?" the rabbi asked.

"Rabbi, it's horrible. I...I...I ate some bacon."

"David, I'm sorry to hear that, but it's not so terrible. Just repent and don't eat it any more. God will forgive you."

"But Rabbi, God must hate me now. There's got to be some way to cancel it out. There has to be some way to make up for what I did."

"No, David, Judaism does not work like that. We all make mistakes. We repent, admit our errors, and work on trying to do better next time. God is happy to forgive us."

"But Rabbi, there must be something I can do."

"David, you don't need to try to appease God, but there are some positive steps you can take to try to improve yourself and correct the problems that led you to sin. How much bacon did you eat?"

"Four strips," David admitted.

"Then commit to reciting four Tehillim every day. Then you will be on a path to improvement," the rabbi advised.

"Thank you rabbi. That is exactly what I'll do."

The next morning, David went to the synagogue to recite the Tehillim. He was still learning Hebrew so he trudged through it very slowly.

Next to him there was a man in a black hat, a black coat, and a long gray beard, his body swaying back and forth as he chanted the Tehillim, turning page after page at a rapid pace, one after the next, after the next.

"What a holy man that is," David thought. "What an amazing, righteous man. That man must know so much about the Torah, and must be so close to God. And to think that he would eat that much bacon!"