#387 (s5765-30/ 26 Adar II 5765)
Wine More Valuable Than Money
After listening to the sad tale, Rabbi Yechezkel Landau
of Prague promised to intervene.
Wine More Valuable
Than Money
There was once a poor melamed (teacher) who
was a follower of Rabbi Yechezkel Landau of Prague. Unable
to provide a dowry for his daughter, he decided to look for a job
in Hungary. He found a teaching position in a small village, where
most of the town's income came from the production of wine. The teacher
stayed there for several years, until he saved up what he hoped was
enough money.
At the same time that he was ready to leave, a wealthy wine merchant
from Prague had just arrived in town to buy wine for Passover. He
agreed to take the teacher back to Prague, provided he supervised
the wine barrels along the way (to make sure they weren't tampered
with, which would render them not kosher). The teacher was grateful
for the offer and they set out.
That Friday afternoon they stopped at an inn. The teacher, who was
carrying a large bundle of money and was afraid to entrust it to just
anyone, decided to hide it among the wine barrels for the duration
of the Shabbat, after which he would retrieve it on Saturday night,
when Shabbat ended. Satisfied that his money was secure, he went off
to prepare for the holy Shabbat.
The following evening he was shocked to discover that the bundle
was gone. It did not take him long to figure out that the only person
who could have stolen it was the wine merchant, who must have seen
him hiding the money and was unable to withstand the temptation.
Although his first impulse was to directly confront him, he decided
to appeal to the man's conscience instead.
Explaining that he had worked hard to provide a dowry for his daughter,
the teacher asked the merchant if he had perhaps hidden the money
in a more secure location. But the merchant made a show of being insulted
by the very idea. He denied the theft, and even blamed the teacher
for having been foolish enough to leave his money where it was unsafe.
When the teacher came right out and begged, the merchant threatened
to leave him and continue on to Prague by himself if he did not stop
"all that nonsense." He was perfectly willing, however,
to make a donation toward the girl's wedding expenses.
"I'm not looking for charity," the teacher replied. "If
you didn't take my money, I apologize." Seeing that there was
nothing to gain by pursuing the matter, he resolved to consult with
Rabbi Landau upon returning to Prague.
After
listening to the teacher's sad tale, Rabbi Yechezkel Landau promised
to intervene. The wine merchant, he revealed, was due to arrive shortly
to ask for his rabbinical approval that the wine was "kosher
for Passover." In the meantime, he suggested that the teacher
go into an adjoining room and rest.
A few minutes later the wine merchant showed up at the Rabbi's house.
"As in years past," he explained, "I have just returned
from Hungary with a large quantity of wine for Passover. I can assure
you that it was completely supervised throughout all stages of its
production, from the crushing of the grapes until its arrival in Prague
in sealed barrels. And as one of your own disciples acted as supervisor,
may I assume that you will approve it?"
"Yes, well," the Rabbi hesitated, "there seems to
be a slight problem ..."
"What kind of problem?" the merchant asked nervously.
"Your supervisor has told me that he hid some money among the
barrels and it disappeared."
"But surely you don't suspect me of having stolen it!"
the merchant said.
"G-d forbid that I would accuse you," the Rabbi assured
him. "But if you didn't take it, or let us say 'borrow,' then
someone else did. And if a stranger had access to the wine, well,
then there's no way to ensure that it wasn't tampered with. In a case
like this, I just couldn't vouch for it..."
The merchant paled when he realized that the money he would lose
from the potential sale of the wine was far more than the amount he
had stolen. He immediately admitted the theft and promised to make
restitution.
But the Rabbi wasn't finished. "It's more complicated than that.
If you stole on Shabbat, the kashrut of the wine is still in
question."
The merchant insisted that the theft had occurred before sundown,
but the Rabbi refused to believe him.
"How do I know that you aren't admitting to something you didn't
do, and are willing to pay the teacher to receive my authorization?"
At that point the merchant broke down in tears and declared that
he was willing to swear he spoke the truth. "I will do anything
you say," he cried.
"All right," the Rabbi replied. "I can see that you
are sincere. However, this is what you must do: In addition to returning
the money, you must make a large contribution towards the girl's dowry.
This will partially atone for your transgression and the aggravation
you caused an innocent man. Provided, of course, that he is willing
to forgive you."
Needless to say, both parties were more than happy with the decision.
And the wine merchant learned a valuable lesson.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[Adapted by Yrachmiel Tilles from the rendition on www.lchaimweekly.org
(#711).]
Biographical note:
Rabbi Yechezkel Landau (1713 - 12 Tevet 1789), of Opatow, Poland,
was appointed Chief Rabbi of Prague in 1746 and head of its Yeshiva
in 1755. He is best known for his monumental work of Halachic and
Talmudic responsa entitled Noda B'Yehuda. He was also a strong
community leader and a skillful negotiator with governments during
the numerous wars and threatened expulsions that plagued the Jewish
community.
Yrachmiel Tilles is co-founder and associate director of Ascent-of-Safed,
and editor of Ascent Quarterly and the AscentOfSafed.com and KabbalaOnline.org
websites. He has hundreds of published stories to his credit.
|