One day, King Solomon decided to give his most trusted minister, Benaiah ben Yehoyada, a task, to see how trust-worthy he really was. He said to him, "There is a certain ring that I want you to bring to me. I wish to wear it for Sukkot which gives you six months to find it."
"If it exists anywhere on earth, your majesty," replied Benaiah, "I will find it and bring it to you, but what makes the ring so special?"
"It has magic powers," answered the king. "It can make the happiest man in the world sad, and the saddest man in the world happy." Solomon knew that no such ring existed in the world, but he wished to see how ambitious his most trusted minister really was.
So, the Benaiah set out to find Solomon his ring. Spring passed and then summer, and still Benaiah had no idea where he could find the ring. He searched far and wide: at expensive jewelry shops and ring makers. Nobody had any idea where to find such a ring.
On the night before Sukkot, he decided to take a walk in one of he poorest quarters of Jerusalem. He passed by a merchant who had begun to set out the day's wares on a shabby carpet. "Have you by any chance heard of a magic ring that could make the happy wearer forget his joy and the broken-hearted wearer forget his sorrows?" asked Benaiah.
The merchant thought for a minute. Then Benaiah watched the old man take a plain gold ring from his carpet and engrave something on it. When Benaiah read the words on the ring, his face broke out in a wide smile.
That night the entire city welcomed in the holiday of Sukkot with great festivity. "Well, my friend," said Solomon, "have you found what I sent you after?" All the ministers laughed and Solomon himself smiled.
To everyone's surprise, Benaiah held up a small gold ring and declared, "Here it is, your majesty!" As soon as Solomon read the inscription, the smile vanished from his face. The jeweler had written three Hebrew letters on the gold band: ג (gimel), ז (zayin), י (yud), which began the words "גם זה יעבור" (Gam zeh ya'avor) -- "This too shall pass."
At that moment Solomon realized that all his wisdom and fabulous wealth and tremendous power were but fleeting things, for one day he would be nothing but dust.
So, to everyone who reads this, and to everyone who has gone through the horrible tragedy that I have this summer, always remember that however hard it may seem, גם זה יעבור. This too shall pass.
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