A non-Jew once knocked on the door of the Rov of Lodzh, Rav Eliyahu Chaim Meisel zt”l, and asked to speak with him in private. The gentile told him that he had been involved in the Polish uprising and had served as a district treasurer. After the war, about 8,000 rubles remained in his possession. He did not want to deposit this money in the bank because it would look suspicious, so he hid it in the basement of his house. From time to time, he would go down to the basement in the middle of the night to check if the money was still in its place. This went on for several years.
He said, “A few days ago, I went down to the basement as usual, and I was horrified to see that the money was not there!” He continued to say, “I have a Jewish neighbor who has always been poor. Recently, he began to live like a wealthy man. He bought new furniture and clothing, etc. I asked him how he suddenly had so much money, and he claimed that his wife’s aunt had died and left him a large inheritance. However, I suspect that he stole my money.”
The Rov said, “Come back to me tomorrow.” He immediately summoned this Jewish man and told him, “I heard that you have become wealthy. Why haven’t I received any donation from you for the poor people of our city?” The man replied, “You are right. From now on, I will give generous donations to charity.” The Rov then asked, “How did you obtain this wealth?” The man then told him his story of a wealthy aunt who died and left him a fortune. The Rov asked, “And she had no heirs besides for you?”
The men began to hem and haw, and the Rov realized that his story was fabricated. He then told him, “The reason I summoned you is because I am worried about you. I heard someone say that you paid for merchandise in the market with counterfeit money. You know that there is a severe penalty for this.” The Jew’s face turned white. He realized that the money he had stolen from his neighbor must have been counterfeit. He revealed the truth to the Rov – that he had stolen the money from his neighbor-s basement and had no idea that it was fake. He ran home and brought all the rest of the money to the Rov, who then told him, “From now on, be very careful not to touch anything that isn’t yours. This is not counterfeit money, but it also isn’t yours!” The next day, the Rov returned the money to the gentile.
