On Friday I had two checks in hand, ready to deposit, each one for a sizable – and much needed – sum. I figured that if I wanted the money to be available by Monday, the best thing to do would be to deposit the checks immediately, on Friday. Since I needed the money urgently, and I knew I would have to transfer it by the following Monday, I went to the bank.
My heart was pounding, because it was quite late. Chatzos had already passed, and for several years I have been careful not to do work that is not necessary for Shabbos after chatzos on Friday. Should I go home without depositing the checks? That would be a shame, since I was already right near the bank.
The automatic cash machine was ready and waiting to work for me, and how long would the whole thing take anyway? It was truly urgent...
I deposited the checks.
On Sunday I called the bank, and they told me to call on Monday.
On Monday I called the bank and discovered to my chagrin that my account was in deficit, indicating that the money I deposited had not been received. How could that be? The bank official told me that it seemed that I’d deposited the checks two times.
“It can’t be,” I said. “I deposited them one time. Please check to find out what happened.”
They checked, and when I called them back they told me, “You deposited them only once, but the bank didn’t accept it.”
That’s how it turned out that the deposit I had made on Friday afternoon was a total failure. Not only did I gain nothing, I also lost out. I felt that miShamayim they were showing me how important it is not to do work on Friday after chatzos. I did something that was only a bit wrong, and I got the message that one does not gain from doing something like this. I should have made the effort to find another solution that would have enabled me to have the money in order to transfer it by Monday.
I thank Hashem for the direct mussar that He gave me.
