a story of materialism

There is a Yiddish story about a rich man who is persuaded to pay a visit to the rebbe. The rebbe leads him to the window.

“Look out there,” the rebbe says, and the rich man looks out at the street. “What do you see?”

“I see people,” he answers.

Then the rebbe leads him to the mirror. “What do you see now?”

The rich man answers, “Now I see myself.”

“So,” the rebbe says. “In the window there is glass and in the mirror there is glass. But the glass of the mirror is covered with silver, and no sooner is the silver added than you cease to see others but see only yourself.”