The Short Vort by Rabbi Eisenman

One day in 1958, Mao Zedong, the father of the People's Republic of China, decided that it was time to eradicate sparrows from China.

The dictator was informed by Chinese "experts" that each sparrow eats about 4.5 kg of grains in a year. For every one million sparrows killed, food could be provided for an estimated 60,000 people.

Mao Zedong ordered to kill all the sparrows.

That order was properly obeyed.

A Shanghai newspaper described the events after the decree:

On the morning of December 13, the battle against sparrows started everywhere.

Students, government servants, factory workers, peasants, and the People's Liberation Army joined the battle.

Catching sparrows, chasing them, and killing them with poison was the responsibility of the young and the old.

The rifle team of Nanyang Girls Middle School had been given special training in bird hunting.

The housewives came out of the house with plates, bowls, pots, and pans.

The method was such that every citizen would chase the birds all day, finding the nearest nest of sparrows.

They would make a loud noise so that the birds could not land anywhere for fear.

Out of exhaustion, the birds would fall to the ground, be caught, and be killed.

The day's main activities were destroying sparrow nests, breaking eggs, shooting, capturing, and poisoning.

This is how the residents of Shanghai killed the sparrows.

194,432 sparrows were killed by 8pm.

Unfortunately, the Chinese leader and his so-called experts miscalculated very badly.

For in addition to grains, sparrows also eat a variety of insects.

With the extinction of sparrows, the number of insects increased geometrically.

This caused the crop fields to be infested with harmful insects.

As a result, the saved grain was consumed by bugs.

In a very short time, the granaries became empty.

There was a famine. This famine is known as 'The Great Famine.

Estimates of the famine death toll range from 30 to 60 million.

Why do I tell you this story?

Too often in life, we are faced with problems.

Real problems.

These problems impact our relationships and emotional and physical well-being.

Often we feel if we could only eliminate this relationship or excise this aspect of our life, everything would be fine.

The reality of life is more akin to the sparrows in China.

While at first glance, it seemed that the sparrows and their abundance were the problem.

In reality, their abundance was the solution.

So too, in our lives, perhaps what we perceive to be the core of our problem is our salvation?