Have you ever heard of the "Tzadik in a Fur Coat"?
He sits in his house by a fireplace full of wood. But there is no fire. The house, and everyone in it, are shivering from the cold. All except for him. He dons a fur coat and he is warm.
So we ask him, "Why do you warm only yourself? Why not kindle the wood in your fireplace and warm others as well?"
He answers, "It is not just this house. Don't you know what is going outside? The entire world is struck with a bitter, cold wind! Do you expect me to warm up an entire world?"
So we tell him that he does not have to warm up the entire world. But perhaps he could warm up one other individual. Perhaps two. Perhaps he could warm up one little corner of the world. Like his house.
"For a person such as I," he replies, "it is not fitting to warm up only one corner."
And so there he sits, in his cold, dark house,
all comfy in his fur coat.
