A wealthy French Jew lived in a penthouse apartment in Paris. One day, he found out his neighbor was the mother of the King of Morocco. He asked a favor that when her son came to visit, he have the opportunity to meet him. When the King came to visit, though security was extremely tight, the good neighbor was allowed to visit and he brought his thirteen-year old son with him.
The bright and respectful boy impressed the king who said to him, “I believe the Jews celebrate the thirteenth birthday of a boy (the Bar Mitzvah) and that it is customary to give a gift.” The man assured the king it was not necessary.
Nevertheless, later that afternoon, the man and his son were summoned back across the hall to see the king. He handed the boy a fancy gilded envelope. Inside was a check for $50,000! The man was stunned and told the king that such as gift was too much for a Bar Mitzvah boy.
The king replied, “I did not give your son such a large gift because he deserves it, but because, as King of Morocco, my station demands that I give a respectable gift. Anything less than this would be an insult to my Kingdom.”
©2024 – J. Gewirtz
