excerpts from a story heard by Rabbi Noach Isaac Oelbaum and Rabbi Yossi Bilus
How nice and relieved it would probably feel when someone is to receive a large sum of money, sorely needed, from Hakadosh Baruch Hu, to pay some of the bills and then have a little extra for ones personal needs.
Similar was the path, the structure of the Jewelry business of my lot when I was there. I would struggle for months and then, one day, there was that big sale where then it would put a smile on my face and relieve my anxieties for at least six months.
Such was the case with this struggling individual who was showered by the heavens with one rare coin. This bracha would sustain him and his family for a good couple of years. However, one has to be smart and wait for the right buyer. The person has to receive the maximum amount when an opportunity like such strikes.
It was unthinkable to trust in the banking system and safe deposit boxes were rare in those days. The home, man’s castle, is where he would keep his valuables. However, as one is familiar there is a downside to keeping expensive assets at home.
The individual decided to keep the expensive coin in the master bedroom closet high up in one of the secret compartments out of the reach of his young children. However, as we all know the painful lesson a child has a long reach. They go on these explorations and find things in your house that parents didn’t know existed.
One day the man’s five year old boy found the coin and decided to go to the neighborhood makolet (grocery store) and splurge on some of his favorite candy. His mother was curious how he got all those sweets but it wasn’t until his father came home and realized that the closet was tampered with, then he knew where the candy came from.
The father marched with his five year old down to the makolet and demanded from the store owner that he return the coin. The store owner went into his register and took out the coin presumably that the boy gave. However, that was not the expensive rare coin!!!
The father explained that his son gave the store owner a rare coin and not what the makolet keeper gave back and he must give it back!! By now the argument was being heard from outside the busy street and people were gathering by the store. The store owner reiterated again the boy did not give him the coin. The father said “I want you to swear in front of Bet Din”(Jewish court system). “No problem” said the store owner.
Such was the case with this struggling individual who was showered by the heavens with one rare coin. This bracha would sustain him and his family for a good couple of years. However, one has to be smart and wait for the right buyer. The person has to receive the maximum amount when an opportunity like such strikes.
It was unthinkable to trust in the banking system and safe deposit boxes were rare in those days. The home, man’s castle, is where he would keep his valuables. However, as one is familiar there is a downside to keeping expensive assets at home.
The individual decided to keep the expensive coin in the master bedroom closet high up in one of the secret compartments out of the reach of his young children. However, as we all know the painful lesson a child has a long reach. They go on these explorations and find things in your house that parents didn’t know existed.
One day the man’s five year old boy found the coin and decided to go to the neighborhood makolet (grocery store) and splurge on some of his favorite candy. His mother was curious how he got all those sweets but it wasn’t until his father came home and realized that the closet was tampered with, then he knew where the candy came from.
The father marched with his five year old down to the makolet and demanded from the store owner that he return the coin. The store owner went into his register and took out the coin presumably that the boy gave. However, that was not the expensive rare coin!!!The father explained that his son gave the store owner a rare coin and not what the makolet keeper gave back and he must give it back!! By now the argument was being heard from outside the busy street and people were gathering by the store. The store owner reiterated again the boy did not give him the coin. The father said “I want you to swear in front of Bet Din”(Jewish court system). “No problem” said the store owner.
The owner indeed swore in front of Bet Din and the matter was supposedly resolved. The father struggled for the next few years financially but managed with the minimal amount. The store owner, even though was exonerated by Bet Din, lost a great amount of patronage for they always associated him with taking the coin. Not only did the owner have to close up shop due to the bad reputation of the coin incident, he also had difficulty marrying off his children. Eventually, he was forced to relocate his family to another city.
Twenty five years later the father now old and debilitated received an envelope with no return address. In it was a rare coin similar to the one the father owned twenty five years ago. In the envelope along with the coin was a note of apology. The letter stated:
“Twenty five years ago I bumped into your son on the way to the store. Your son was flashing this expensive rare coin and it fell to the ground. The temptation was to great; I picked up the coin switching it with a regular similar size coin. My family was in a desperate financial situation and we were down on our luck. I moved to a different town, sold the coin and with the money eventually got on my feet. I owe you an apology for all the trouble I might have caused. Please, forgive me”.
The question Rabbi Noach Isaac Oelbaum poses is how will the heavens judge the parties who were involved in this story. Obviously, the poor store owner is the anointed victim. The father, considering the tremendous financial loss he was about to encounter and the disappointment of the potential gains, perhaps might have handled the situation a bit more low key. The person, who actually switched/stole the coin would, most likely, be judged severely.
However, there is another party who has to be judged negatively and that is the patrons of the store and people of the town who had no connection to the case but got involved anyway. They spread negative assumptions about the store owner and for the most part caused him and his family unwarranted grief.
The lesson to be learned as we enter the threshold of Yom Kippur and we ask forgiveness from our brethren, is not to judge our fellow when we have no authority to do so. We should not get involved in business that doesn’t pertain to us.
Yom Kippur is a time to ask forgiveness from G-d as well as our fellow brethren. It’s a time that we have to look at our relationships in a very sensitive manner and hold back our unwarranted opinion.
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