Wishing to encourage her young son's progress on the piano, a
mother took her boy to a Paderewski concert. After they were seated,
the mother spotted a friend in the audience and walked down the
aisle to greet her. Seizing the opportunity to explore the wonders of
the concert hall, the little boy rose and eventually explored his way
through a door marked "NO ADMITTANCE."
When the houselights dimmed and the concert was about to begin,
the mother returned to her seat and discovered that the child was
missing. Suddenly, the curtains parted and spotlights focused on
the impressive Steinway on stage. In horror, the mother saw her
little boy sitting at the keyboard, innocently picking out "Twinkle,
Twinkle Little Star."
At that moment, the great piano master made his entrance, quickly
moved to the piano, and whispered in the boy's ear, "Don't quit. Keep
playing." Then leaning over, Paderewski reached down with his left
hand and began filling in a bass part. Soon his right arm reached
around to the other side of the child and he added a running obbligato.
Together, the old master and the young novice transformed a
frightening situation into a wonderfully creative experience. And
the audience was mesmerized.
Whatever our situation in life and history--however outrageous,
however desperate, whatever dry spell of the spirit, whatever dark
night of the soul-- G-d is whispering deep within our beings, "Don't
quit. Keep playing. You are not alone, Together we will transform
the broken patterns into a masterwork of my creative art. Together,
we will mesmerize the world with our song of peace."