Tam and Chacham had a custom of visiting various communities, where they would stay in the homes of wealthy members of the community while they collected charity for those less fortunate.

In one of the cities that Tam and Chacham would visit, there lived a wealthy merchant. The merchant owned a large mansion with many rooms, whenever he heard of the Tam and Chacham’s arrival in his city, he made sure that his mansion was locked. Well aware of the tendency of Tam and Chacham to stay at the homes of the wealthy, where there was ample room to welcome the many people who wanted to speak to Tam and Chacham about many different things. The merchant would quickly leave his mansion, many times claiming that he has to go to a last-minute business meeting. He preferred that his house be left alone.

The suddenness of the appearance of Tam and Chacham in his city caught the merchant, along with his wide-open mansion, off guard. Left with no choice, he reluctantly surrendered his house so that it could serve as the base where people could come to see Tam and Chacham to recieve advice blessings or to offer charity.

A few days later, the Tam and Chacham asked the merchant: “Tell us the truth, are you not happy with the fact that we are staying here?”

“Both of you are my honoured guests. In fact you bring blessings to my home” replied the merchant earnestly. “I am thrilled to be hosting you and delighted that you chose to stay at my house. The problem I have does not lie with you but rather with the all those people who want to speak to you. You see, when you come, they come. And when they come, along comes the mud, dust and muck from the streets. The very thought of all that grime on my clean floors and furniture just horrifies me. “It was never because of you, G‑d forbid. The idea of the mud has always been off-putting to me.”

Tam and Chacham thought for a moment and them Tam began to speak:

“There once lived a doctor who was very very wealthy and an active sinner. He managed to transgress almost all of the Torah’s prohibitions. After a long life of pleasure, the doctor was greeted in heaven by the horde of prosecuting angels that he managed to create throughout his lifetime of sins. Their loud, emphatic accusations and protests challenged the heavens to find a sliver of virtue for his poor soul.

“Suddenly, an angel appeared before the heavenly court and began to tell an account of kindness that transpired in the doctor’s youth: It once happened that a man’s wagon, overloaded with merchandise, keeled over in the road. The horse was pinned to the ground and the wagon driver, unable to raise the upended wagon by himself, stood by helplessly as he waited for aid that did not seem to come. However, continued the angel, the young doctor happened to be traveling down the same road. And when the wagon driver’s misfortune met his eyes, the doctor stopped to assist the grateful man. Only after the two successfully managed to turn the overloaded cart so that it was upright on its wheels, did the doctor continue on his journey.

“Immediately after the angel concluded his story, a horse and wagon overloaded with merchandise were placed on the empty pan dangling from the Heavenly scales of justice, which had been tilted heavily on the side of sins. Helped by the new weight, the balance shifted towards the center. But the lifetime of sins still outweighed the single good deed.

“We demand that the mud and soil be added to the scale as well,’ chorused the good angels. ‘After all, he had to extract the wagon from the muck, didn’t he?’ But the prosecuting angels vehemently insisted that the doctor had nothing to do with the mud, which had no direct relevance to him. The heavenly court therefore decided to send the doctor’s soul back to this world to determine whether mud holds any significance for his soul. If so, mud would be placed on the heavenly scale on the side of merits. But if not …”

Tam paused his story and fixed his gaze on the merchant.

“You possess the soul of that doctor, and your evil inclination is working overtime not to allow that mud into your house. “

Upon hearing these words from Tam, the merchant ran to the door and began pleading to the people waiting outside. “Come in, come in,” he cried. “Come as you are and greet our honored guests.”

May all your tales end with Shalom (peace)

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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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