Long ago there was an old man who had once been very wealthy and had given charity willingly, but in his old age found himself impoverished. His neighbors remembered how generous he had been when he had been rich, so they often invited him to their homes and saw to it that his needs were met.
Once, when the Sabbath was over, the old man returned home, lit a candle, and was startled to find a holy man sitting on his bed. The old man was taken aback and said,
“Who are you?”
The stranger did not answer directly, but instead asked a question of his own, “Tell me, may I remain in your home for a few days? I have been traveling far and wide, and I need a place to rest.”
The old man replied, “Certainly you may stay, but what shall you eat, for I myself am dependent on the kindness of others?” The stranger said, “No matter,” and remained as the guest of the old man. The two shared the old man’s food, meager as it was, and the stranger accompanied the old man to the synagogue.
After three days the stranger prepared to depart, but before he set out, he said to the old man, “You have been so kind to me, and I wish to repay you, but all I have is this staff. Take it. It will help you, but someday you will have to return it to its place.” Now these were strange words, which the old man did not understand. “Where is its place?” he asked. The stranger replied, “On Mount Carmel.” This confused the old man even more, for Mount Carmel is in the Holy Land, far away from where the old man made his home. “Who are you?” he asked. And the stranger revealed that he was none other than Elijah the Prophet. Then the old man was afraid, overcome and thrilled all at once. He accepted the staff from Elijah with many thanks, and accompanied him to the door and saw him off. When Elijah had taken but a few steps, he disappeared from the old man’s sight, and the old man realized that this had truly been the prophet of old.
The old man soon discovered the powers of the staff. Once, when he had walked a long distance and was feeling faint, he sat down at the edge of the road and placed his staff so that only his feet touched it. At once he felt his strength renewed, as though he had become much younger. He was able to stand up easily and returned home full of life. After that he used the staff to revive himself whenever he began to feel the burden of his age, and his spirits always lifted at the very instant his feet touched the wondrous staff.
The next day the old man took the staff with him when he went to the market. While he was walking, the staff suddenly became stuck in a crack between the stones. The old man bent down to pull it out, and when he did he found several silver pieces in the shadow of the staff. What a blessing, he thought, for now he would be able to support himself again, and even have enough to give charity.
One night the old man was awakened by the sound of screams and cries. He ran outside with the staff in his hand to see what was happening, and discovered that the Jewish quarter had been invaded by a mob who were trying to set it afire. Suddenly the old man felt filled with a great strength, and he ran directly into the mob, swinging the staff. The other Jewish npeople marveled at the old man’s courage and took heart, and they too joined the fight. In this way the rioters were quickly defeated, and never again did they dare to attack the Jewish quarter.
After this, the old man became a hero in the Jewish community, and they decided to collect enough money for him to fulfill his lifelong wish of going to the Holy Land. So it was that he was able to make the journey after all, despite his age. After many months his ship arrived in Jaffa and the old man disembarked. His wish was to travel to the Kossel haMa’aravi (Western Wall) in the holy city of Jerusalem. Somehow he ended up in a wagon bound for Safed.
When the wagon was crossing Mount Carmel, one of its wheels broke off. There was nothing that could be done until the wheel was repaired, which would take some time. To pass the time the old man took a walk on the mountain, and along the way he spotted a tree from which a branch had been cut off. He came closer, and marveled that the wood of the tree was so similar to that of his staff. He raised up the staff against that place in the tree to compare it, and at the instant it touched the tree it fused to it and turned into one of its branches. While the old man watched in complete amazement, the branch began to bud and bear leaves, so that it soon resembled every other branch of that tree.
It was then that the old man recalled the words of Elijah, and understood that his mission was complete: the staff of Elijah had been returned to its place of origin. With a wonderful feeling the old man returned to the wagon just as the wheel was ready for travel, and he continued on his journey.
After visiting the holy city of Safed, he traveled to the holy city of Jerusalem, and before long reached the Kossel haMa’aravi (Western Wall). As he stood and prayed before the Wall, a gust of wind carried a leaf to his feet. When the old man bent down and picked it up, he somehow knew for certain it was a leaf from the tree from which his staff had been taken. The old man kept that leaf, and it remained green all the years of his life. He lived many more years in the Holy Land, the happiest he had ever known.
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)
