Rabbi Shmuel Hanagid was a medieval poet who lived in Moslem Spain from 993-1056 of the Common Era. One of his most prized possessions was a tiny Torah scroll he had written on special parchment, which he always carried with him wherever he went.
Rabbi Shmuel Hanagid's love for calligraphy was passed down to his sons, who even as young children demonstrated an aptitude for lettering. By the age of 8, his son Yehosef had already transcribed his father's book of poems, Ben Tehillim. Another work, entitled Ben Mishlei, was copied by his son Elyasaf at age 6½. Rabbi Shmuel wanted his third book, Ben Kohelet, to be copied by his son Yehuda, but the boy unfortunately passed away before he could do so. Rabbi Shmuel Hanagid was grief-stricken, as he had loved his son very much. In the end he transcribed the book himself, and dedicated it to the boy's memory.
Rabbi Shmuel had many enemies. When he came under attack, he was forced to defend himself and wage war. He was a fearless and successful fighter, but it was during one of these battles that he lost his precious manuscript, Ben Kohelet. He was especially distressed by the loss, as it was the only copy in existence.
Rabbi Shmuel returned home to what he hoped would be a life of tranquility and scholarship. However, this proved impossible, as he found himself besieged by numerous requests for holy books from Torah scholars near and far, who complained about their desperate shortage. (Remember, this was before the invention of the printing press, when all reading materials had to be painstakingly copied by hand.)
Rabbi Shmuel thus became the founder of a famous institute for copying Jewish holy books, with a large number of scribes in his employ. Indeed, he was responsible for developing a new method of "mass" production, whereby transcribers would sit in a half-circle around a single "reader" in the middle and faithfully reproduce his words.
Thanks to Rabbi Shmuel Hanagid, Jewish holy books became much more readily available to the common man. He also took pains to bind them in attractive bindings. Copies were sent to far-flung Jewish communities around the world. Apprentice scribes flocked to the new school, begging to be accepted. It was said that Rabbi Shmuel Hanagid could determine a person's character just by looking at his handwriting.
One day a potential scribe arrived at the school and asked to be accepted as an apprentice. When Rabbi Shmuel asked him to provide a sample of his calligraphy, he took one look at the handwriting and pronounced him to be a professional plagiarist. The man was immediately taken aback, and admitted that he had been involved in producing forgeries. However, he said that he was happy to have been found out, and promised to amend his ways. Rabbi Shmuel decided to take him on as a student.
Several years passed, until one day the former plagiarist brought Rabbi Shmuel a copy of the Talmudic Tractate Bava Metzia he had transcribed for his approval.
After inspecting his work, Rabbi Shmuel told him that he could see from his writing that he had been "cured," and would never again fall prey to temptation. The man was so happy that he kissed his mentor's hands and gave him a small manuscript as a token of his affection. Rabbi Shmuel could hardly believe his eyes: it was an exact copy of his book, Ben Kohelet, that had been lost years before!
The student then told Rabbi Shmuel that as a result of his former criminal associations he had met a man who boasted of having written a book of poetry. Indeed, the man was very fond of quoting "his" poems at length. By that time, the student was well acquainted with Rabbi Shmuel's work and recognized his style. He realized that the poems could have only been authored by him, and learned them by heart, word for word and line by line. He then transcribed them into a book as a gift for his wonderful teacher, who had refused to give up on him and given him a second chance.
Rabbi Shmuel Hanagid's joy knew no bounds. Not only had he been proven a good judge of character, but the beloved manuscript he had thought was lost to him forever was restored to him in its entirety.
