A share in the world to come.
A Share in the World to Come
Noach, a disciple of the holy Rebbe of Apta, had once been a wealthy
and successful merchant. Now, as he dejectedly stood before his Rebbe,
he was broke. "All I have left," he tearfully told the tzaddik, "is
one ruble - the last reminder of my better days. And my daughter has
reached marriageable age, yet I have nothing with which to marry her
off!"
"Tell me," said the Ohev Yisrael, "how much does a man like you need
for a dowry and wedding expenses, so that you can marry-off your
daughter respectfully?"
Noach sighed from the depths of his heart. "One thousand rubles, holy Rebbe."
"And how much do you have?" asked the tzaddik
"I already told the Rebbe - I have but one ruble left from all my
years of hard work!"
"Fine," said the tzaddik, "it is enough! Hashem's blessing can rest
upon one ruble just as well as a larger amount. Go in peace, and
accept the first business offer that comes your way. And remember:
Yeshuas Hashem ke-heref ayin, Hashem's salvation comes in the blink of
an eye!"
Not long afterwards, as he traveled home, Noach stopped over in an inn
to rest his aching feet. Though the food being served made his mouth
water, he could hardly spend his last ruble on it, and preferred
instead to partake of the stale bread he carried in his sack. Some
well-to-do merchants sat next to him enjoying a sumptuous meal.
Noticing the raggedly dressed pauper sitting next to them, they
decided to amuse themselves. "Tell me, my fellow Jew," one of them
said, "you have the appearance of a merchant. Perhaps you would be
interested in a business proposition?!"
Startled, Noach suddenly remembered the tzaddik's words. "Yes!" he
replied enthusiastically.
"And how much money do you have at your disposal?" they asked. "One
ruble!" Noach replied without hesitation.
"One whole ruble!" they mocked. "Let's see what kind of a deal we can
strike with a wealthy merchant who possesses one whole ruble," one of
the merchants piped-in, "that for one ruble you could do no better
than to purchase my share in the World to Come! Do we have a deal -
your one ruble for my Olam Ha-Ba?!"
'The first business offer,' Noach reminded himself of his Rebbe's
words. "Yes," he responded, "I will do it." Eager to prolong their
amusement, the merchants went about arranging the writing of a legal
contract, and the deal was done.
The wealthy merchants were still basking in their revelry when the
wife of the merchant who had made the sale entered the room. Seeing
her husband's face red with laughter, she now wished to know what was
going on. Priding himself on his cleverness and wit, he related to her
exactly what had happened. By the time he finished his story to the
laughter of his peers, however, his face had turned ashen white. He
could tell by the deathly serious expression of his wife, and by her
blazing eyes, that his idea of fun pleased her not the least. Nor
could he do as he please, for his wife was the daughter of a wealthy
merchant, and everything he had was ultimately her's.
A tense silence now came over the once-merry group. All at once, the
woman began pouring out her wrath at her husband in front of the
entire crowd - the empty-headed yokel who could find nothing better to
do than to give-away his insignificant portion in Olam Ha-Ba! "You
fool!" she cried, "How does a Jew dare to make sport of the most
important thing he possesses! Take me to the Rav immediately - I
refuse to be married to an imbecile like you who is so disconnected
from Judaism that he does not even have a share in the World to Come!"
Overwhelmed with shame, the merchant realized that his only hope was
to buy back his portion. Noach was searched for, found, and brought
back to their table. "Hey, Yid," called out one of the merchants,
"cute joke you played on our friend! Now give him back his share in
the World to Come!"
Noticing the merchant's hysterical wife standing over him, Noach began
to grasp what had occurred. Slowly, he spoke up. "Honored gentlemen,"
he began in a composed voice, "I ask all of you here to bear witness
to the fact that the transaction between myself and the merchant was
no joke nor prank. Indeed, I have the contract to show for it. That is
not to say, however, that for the right price I would not be willing
to relinquish my purchase and give him back his share in the World to
Come..."
The merchant pleaded with Noach to sell it back to him; he would even
pay him fifty rubles - a five-thousand percent profit - if only he
would relent. But Noach was adamant - one thousand rubles was his
price, not one ruble less. "Understand, honored merchant," said Noach,
"that I was once a highly respected and successful merchant. Then one
day, the wheel turned, and I lost all my money. This is how I fell
into the state in which you now find me. Just recently, when I could
not gather a sum sufficient for a dowry for my daughter, and other
wedding expenses, I traveled to the holy tzaddik, the Ohev Yisrael, to
ask for his advice. It was he who instructed me to accept the first
business offer that came my way. It is clear to me that Hashem has
guided my steps and brought me here - and that the money for my
daughter's wedding lies with you."
The couple could not speak. Tears welled up in the merchant's eyes,
although ostensibly he had never before experienced such emotions.
Without hesitation, he withdrew a fold of bills from his pocket, and
counted out 1000 rubles into the hands of Noach. The merchant took the
contract from Noach, and tore it into shreds. "Even without this
contract," he said, "it is worth investing a 1000 rubles for the
mitzvah of hachnassat kallah (providing for a bride)!"
His wife, who had been standing at his side the entire time, glanced
at him in amazement. She was prepared to swear that in all his life,
this was the first time that such selfless and noble thoughts had ever
entered his mind.
"I wish to meet the tzaddik that blessed you," the merchant's wife
said to Noach. "Perhaps we too will merit receiving his blessing."
Noach could not refuse, and together they made their way back to the
Rebbe. The tzaddik received his visitors with a shining countenance;
he had already known of the rich merchant's noble deed, and bestowed
the couple with many blessings. Before they left, the merchant's wife
turned to the tzaddik and said, "Holy Rebbe, there is one thing I
would like to know: Is my husband's portion inOlam Ha-Ba really worth
the thousand rubles he paid for it?"
"If the truth be told," he said, "at first, when he sold it, it was
not even worth the one ruble he received for it. But now, that he has
merited giving 1000 rubles for the mitzvah of hachnassat kallah, its
value is so great that it is impossible to estimate!"
Noach, a disciple of the holy Rebbe of Apta, had once been a wealthy
and successful merchant. Now, as he dejectedly stood before his Rebbe,
he was broke. "All I have left," he tearfully told the tzaddik, "is
one ruble - the last reminder of my better days. And my daughter has
reached marriageable age, yet I have nothing with which to marry her
off!"
"Tell me," said the Ohev Yisrael, "how much does a man like you need
for a dowry and wedding expenses, so that you can marry-off your
daughter respectfully?"
Noach sighed from the depths of his heart. "One thousand rubles, holy Rebbe."
"And how much do you have?" asked the tzaddik
"I already told the Rebbe - I have but one ruble left from all my
years of hard work!"
"Fine," said the tzaddik, "it is enough! Hashem's blessing can rest
upon one ruble just as well as a larger amount. Go in peace, and
accept the first business offer that comes your way. And remember:
Yeshuas Hashem ke-heref ayin, Hashem's salvation comes in the blink of
an eye!"
Not long afterwards, as he traveled home, Noach stopped over in an inn
to rest his aching feet. Though the food being served made his mouth
water, he could hardly spend his last ruble on it, and preferred
instead to partake of the stale bread he carried in his sack. Some
well-to-do merchants sat next to him enjoying a sumptuous meal.
Noticing the raggedly dressed pauper sitting next to them, they
decided to amuse themselves. "Tell me, my fellow Jew," one of them
said, "you have the appearance of a merchant. Perhaps you would be
interested in a business proposition?!"
Startled, Noach suddenly remembered the tzaddik's words. "Yes!" he
replied enthusiastically.
"And how much money do you have at your disposal?" they asked. "One
ruble!" Noach replied without hesitation.
"One whole ruble!" they mocked. "Let's see what kind of a deal we can
strike with a wealthy merchant who possesses one whole ruble," one of
the merchants piped-in, "that for one ruble you could do no better
than to purchase my share in the World to Come! Do we have a deal -
your one ruble for my Olam Ha-Ba?!"
'The first business offer,' Noach reminded himself of his Rebbe's
words. "Yes," he responded, "I will do it." Eager to prolong their
amusement, the merchants went about arranging the writing of a legal
contract, and the deal was done.
The wealthy merchants were still basking in their revelry when the
wife of the merchant who had made the sale entered the room. Seeing
her husband's face red with laughter, she now wished to know what was
going on. Priding himself on his cleverness and wit, he related to her
exactly what had happened. By the time he finished his story to the
laughter of his peers, however, his face had turned ashen white. He
could tell by the deathly serious expression of his wife, and by her
blazing eyes, that his idea of fun pleased her not the least. Nor
could he do as he please, for his wife was the daughter of a wealthy
merchant, and everything he had was ultimately her's.
A tense silence now came over the once-merry group. All at once, the
woman began pouring out her wrath at her husband in front of the
entire crowd - the empty-headed yokel who could find nothing better to
do than to give-away his insignificant portion in Olam Ha-Ba! "You
fool!" she cried, "How does a Jew dare to make sport of the most
important thing he possesses! Take me to the Rav immediately - I
refuse to be married to an imbecile like you who is so disconnected
from Judaism that he does not even have a share in the World to Come!"
Overwhelmed with shame, the merchant realized that his only hope was
to buy back his portion. Noach was searched for, found, and brought
back to their table. "Hey, Yid," called out one of the merchants,
"cute joke you played on our friend! Now give him back his share in
the World to Come!"
Noticing the merchant's hysterical wife standing over him, Noach began
to grasp what had occurred. Slowly, he spoke up. "Honored gentlemen,"
he began in a composed voice, "I ask all of you here to bear witness
to the fact that the transaction between myself and the merchant was
no joke nor prank. Indeed, I have the contract to show for it. That is
not to say, however, that for the right price I would not be willing
to relinquish my purchase and give him back his share in the World to
Come..."
The merchant pleaded with Noach to sell it back to him; he would even
pay him fifty rubles - a five-thousand percent profit - if only he
would relent. But Noach was adamant - one thousand rubles was his
price, not one ruble less. "Understand, honored merchant," said Noach,
"that I was once a highly respected and successful merchant. Then one
day, the wheel turned, and I lost all my money. This is how I fell
into the state in which you now find me. Just recently, when I could
not gather a sum sufficient for a dowry for my daughter, and other
wedding expenses, I traveled to the holy tzaddik, the Ohev Yisrael, to
ask for his advice. It was he who instructed me to accept the first
business offer that came my way. It is clear to me that Hashem has
guided my steps and brought me here - and that the money for my
daughter's wedding lies with you."
The couple could not speak. Tears welled up in the merchant's eyes,
although ostensibly he had never before experienced such emotions.
Without hesitation, he withdrew a fold of bills from his pocket, and
counted out 1000 rubles into the hands of Noach. The merchant took the
contract from Noach, and tore it into shreds. "Even without this
contract," he said, "it is worth investing a 1000 rubles for the
mitzvah of hachnassat kallah (providing for a bride)!"
His wife, who had been standing at his side the entire time, glanced
at him in amazement. She was prepared to swear that in all his life,
this was the first time that such selfless and noble thoughts had ever
entered his mind.
"I wish to meet the tzaddik that blessed you," the merchant's wife
said to Noach. "Perhaps we too will merit receiving his blessing."
Noach could not refuse, and together they made their way back to the
Rebbe. The tzaddik received his visitors with a shining countenance;
he had already known of the rich merchant's noble deed, and bestowed
the couple with many blessings. Before they left, the merchant's wife
turned to the tzaddik and said, "Holy Rebbe, there is one thing I
would like to know: Is my husband's portion inOlam Ha-Ba really worth
the thousand rubles he paid for it?"
"If the truth be told," he said, "at first, when he sold it, it was
not even worth the one ruble he received for it. But now, that he has
merited giving 1000 rubles for the mitzvah of hachnassat kallah, its
value is so great that it is impossible to estimate!"
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