A holy rabbi took a position as a teacher in a distant town. He lived that winter in a Jewish-owned inn. In those days it was normal for a teacher not to see his family from Rosh Hashanah to Passover (September to April).

That winter was particularly bitter. Snowstorms with fierce winds caused the snow to fall so heavily that one could not see where they were going. The weather was so bad it stopped travel for over a week. One afternoon, a knock was heard at the door. The innkeeper opened the door and found three half frozen Polish peasants requesting a place to stay. He asked if they had the ability to pay and found that their combined funds were not enough for even one night’s stay. The innkeeper closed the door on them. The teacher was shocked. When he complained to the innkeeper, the innkeeper merely shrugged and responded, “Do you want to undertake their expenses?” Much to the innkeeper’s surprise, the teacher agreed.

The peasants thanked the holy rabbi and proceeded to enjoy themselves at his expense. That storm was particularly brutal and the peasants remained in the inn for two weeks. After the snow cleared enough for passage, they thanked the teacher for his kindness and generosity and then left the inn to continue their journey.

Passover approached and the holy rabbi went to settle his account. The innkeeper figured he owed the teacher 40 rubles for teaching his children, but the teacher owed him 43 rubles for taking in the peasants. The innkeeper wished him a Happy Passover and said he could bring the three rubles upon his return after the holiday.

The teacher did not know what to say. He bid his employer farewell and left. He traveled to his village, but could not bring himself to go home. He stopped into one of the local synagogues, opened a holy book and immersed himself in study. In the meantime, his son heard that his father was in town and went looking for him. He found his father in the shul (synagogue).

The young boy ran to his father and with great emotion and begged his father to come home. He wanted to show his father his new Passover shoes and clothes and all the other things his mother had bought (on credit). This made the father only feel worse. As they walked home a carriage came rumbling through the streets. The streets of that village were very narrow and people were forced into alleyways to avoid being trampled. As the coach passed by the two, it hit a bump and a parcel fell off the back.

The holy rabbi picked it up and began running after the coach, but was unable to get the coachman’s attention. The coach turned a corner and disappeared. The holy rabbi, seeing no distinguishing marks on the bag (according to Torah law, in such a situation it may be presumed that the owner would relinquish all hope of its recovery, and the lost object may be kept by the finder), and realizing that there was no possible way for him to locate the owner, opened the parcel. Inside were exactly 43 rubles.

The night of the seder, the young boy was given the job to open the door for Elijah the Prophet. When he opened the door, he called to his father, “Father, the coachman is here!” There was no one there. The holy rabbi pulled his son aside and told him that he must promise never to tell anyone this story until the very last day of his life. And so it was many many years later when the holy rabbi’s son was on his death bed, he told this story.

May all your tales end with Shalom (peace)

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Tell it to your children, and let your children tell it to their children, and their children to the next generation. (Joel 1:3)

Rachmiel Tobesman is a motivational speaker and Maggid (spiritual Storyteller). He is available for speaking engagements or storytelling, Click here to contact us

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