Avigdor was a local farmer who was well-known in the village for the fine vegetables he brought to market. He was always accompanied by his dog, whom all the children wanted to pet. Avigdor was always friendly and was well-liked by everyone.
One day he came to the village and set a blanket-covered basket in front of his cart of fresh vegetables. Above the basket, he placed a sign that said the puppies were for sale. He started to set out his vegetables for sale when he felt a tug on his pants. He looked down to see a little boy with a big grin and something in his hand.
“Avigdor,” he said, “I want to buy one of your puppies.” “Well,” Avigdor started, “these puppies are kind of expensive. Are you sure you can afford to buy one?”.
The boy dropped his head for a moment, then looked back up at Avigdor and said, “I’ve got thirty-nine kopecks. Is that enough to take a look?”
Sure,” said the Avigdor, and with that he gently pulled back the blanket and the boy saw four little balls of fur. The little boy’s eyes danced with delight.
Then he noticed, in the corner under the blanket a little ball of fur peeking out at him. This one a lot smaller than the others. It began to hobble as it walked. It was clearly the runt of the litter.
The little boy pressed his face close to the tiny puppy and cried out, “I want that one,” pointing to the runt.
The Avigdor knelt down and said, “My sweet boy, you don’t want that puppy. He will never be able to run and play with you the way you would like.”
With that the boy reached down and slowly pulled up one leg of his trousers. In doing so he revealed a brace running down both sides of his leg attaching itself to a specially made shoe. Looking up at Avigdor, he said, “You see, Avigdor, I don’t run too well myself, and he will need someone who understands.”
We learn, “You shall not insult the deaf, or place a stumbling block before the blind.” (Leviticus 19:14) Stumbling blocks come in many forms, and many times people are ignored or mistreated because of their handicaps and disabilities. Little do people remember, “do not despise any man, and do not discriminate against anything, for there is no man that has not his hour, and there is no thing that has not its place. (Pirke Avos 4.3)
After the creation of people, the Holy One, blessed be He “saw everything that He had made, and behold, it was very good.” (Genesis 1:31) The Hebrew term used is tov me’od and the word me’od has the same letters as adam (man). Every person is tov me’od – very good
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)
