Every morning when the holy rabbi would arrive at the synagogue he would hang his coat on a peg in the hallway. He would then pray and settle down to study for the day. Many people came to him for advice and students flocked to learn from him. The holy rabbi was very poor and many times went without eating and his clothes were threadbare. A merchant would slip some coins into the pocket of the holy rabbi’s coat, so that he and his family would be able to buy the necessaries of life. From that time on, the merchant grew wealthier and wealthier. The more he had, the more he gave to the holy rabbi, and the more he gave the holy rabbi, the more he had.

One day the merchant was thinking and realized that the holy rabbi was the student of a great master of Torah, and it occurred to him that if what he gave the student was so lavishly rewarded, he might become even more prosperous if he made presents to the Torah master himself. So he travelled to a faraway village and encouraged the Torah master to accept a generous gift from him. From this time on, his wealth shrank until he had lost all the profits he had made during the more fortunate period. He took his troubles to the holy rabbi, told him the whole story, and asked him what his present predicament was due to. For had not the rabbi himself told him that his teacher was infinitely greater than he?

The holy rabbi thought for a moment and explained: “You need to understand that as long as you gave and did not bother to whom, whether to a poor rabbi or another, the Holy One, blessed be He gave to you and did not bother to whom. But when you began to seek out especially noble and distinguished recipients, the Holy One did exactly the same.”

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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