Joel E. Munz, the president of the Jolly Munz Candy Company, sat at his cluttered desk, trying to pry apart two documents which had a piece of taffy sandwiched between them. A knock on the door made him look up.
“Ah, Anshel! You’re just in time!” Mr. Munz said cheerfully.
Anshel Holtzbacher walked into the office, followed by his son, Ari.
“You remember my son, Ari, I hope it’s okay that I brought him with me to our meeting.”
“Of course, of course!” replied Mr. Munz, standing up and unsticking a candy wrapper from his palm, so he could shake Mr. Holtzbacher’s hand. “I’m actually glad you brought him. Today is a very special day! Follow me!”
Mr. Holtzbacher and Ari followed Mr. Munz down the hallway, through the massive candy production hall, and into the most interesting-looking room they had ever seen. Men wearing white lab coats were bustling about, working at tables filled with beakers, test tubes - strange-looking machines emitted smoke in every color imaginable.
“Welcome to the candy laboratory,” Mr. Munz said. “This is where we invent the newest and greatest treats you could ever imagine.”
“Very impressive,” Mr. Holtzbacher commented. “So what is the ‘amazing opportunity’ you wanted to discuss with me?”
“Oh yes, oh yes!” said Mr. Munz, dramatically. “Right over here!”
The three of them walked to a corner of the room, where an old scientist stood in front of a multi-colored machine full of interesting dials and knobs.
“Behold, our latest invention!” exclaimed Mr. Munz. “You see, for many years, I have tried unsuccessfully to cram even more caramel into candy bars, but it just seemed impossible. We even tried compressing the caramel using a hydraulic press, but the candy bars would explode from the immense pressure. But today we have succeeded in making the new Super-Crunchy Delectable Chocolate Caramel Supreme - our latest candy bar containing over fifty times more caramel than any candy ever created!”
“Vey nice,” said Mr. Holtzbacher. “How did you accomplish this?”
“Ah, it is quite ingenious,” Mr. Munz said smugly. “Here, let me show you.”
Mr. Munz pointed to a beaker simmering over a bunsen burner.
“This is grade-A caramel. Please hand me that test tube over there.”
Mr. Holtzbacher handed Mr. Munz a test tube filled with a glowing green liquid.
“Thanks. This is a unique mixture of nougat hydrochloride and lukshen bicarbonate. Now watch what happens when I add it to the caramel.”
Mr. Munz emptied the test tube into the beaker, which let off a puff of purple smoke.
“The caramel disappeared,” said Ari.
“No, it didn’t,” smiled Mr. Munz. “Look!”
Ari peered into the beaker. Sure enough there was still a little bit of caramel left in the bottom.
“The caramel has undergone a toffee-hydrogenation process which has condensed it to a fraction of its original size!” Mr. Munz explained. “It’s the same amount of caramel that was there before - it just shrunk! Here, Ari, taste this candy bar and tell me what you think!”
Ari took the candy bar, made a brocha, and took a bite. His eyes popped wide open.
“This is the best candy bar I ever tasted!” exclaimed Ari.
“Exactly!” Mr. Munz said. “Now, my dear Anshel, I would like to offer you the opportunity to invest in the production of this candy. It will revolutionize the confectionary industry!”
Back in the office, Mr. Munz took out a contract for Mr. Holtzbacher to sign.
“Oh wow!” exclaimed Mr. Holtzbacher, reaching for his pen. “There’s a dollar bill in my pocket I didn’t know was there! Thank you Hashem!”
Mr. Munz looked confused. “Anshel, you are worth billions. Why are you thanking G-D for finding a dollar? That would be like me thanking Him for the nice breeze this morning when I could instead be thanking him for helping me invent the Super-Crunchy Delectable Chocolate Caramel Supreme.”
Mr. Holtzbacher smiled. “You know when the Jews left Egypt, Moshe Rabbeinu told us ‘Today you are leaving in the month of spring’ (Shemos 13:4). Now why would he mention that? We left slavery - who cares about the weather?
“But Moshe was teaching us a valuable lesson. Just because Hashem does something amazing for us, we can never overlook the many other things he is constantly doing. He could have taken us out of Egypt in the rainy season or in the hot summer, but no - he took us out when the weather was perfect.”
“He did that on purpose?” asked Mr. Munz.
“Everything Hashem does is on purpose,” Mr. Holtzbacher says. “Whether you’re experiencing a nice breeze, finding a dollar bill, or anything else - every tiny thing Hashem does for our benefit and we must thank him for every single detail.”
Have a Wonderful Shabbos!
Let’s review:
- Why did Hashem take us out of Mitzrayim in the spring?
- How many things did Hashem do for you today which you can thank him for?
