By Rabbi Reuven Semah
One day Rabbi Weinstock stopped in to visit the great Rabbi Tcheshik on an extremely hot day in Israel. He found the Rabbi not looking well. He got him a glass of water, and he felt a little better.
The Rabbi explained that something happened today to cause him great anguish. He began the story which began five years earlier. Five years ago, he received a phone call to meet someone in the King David Hotel in Jerusalem. The Rabbi took a cab and found an old friend who knew the Rabbi from America.
Robert Goldblum was very wealthy, but had no children. He was worth fifty million dollars and he wanted to give all his money to Yeshivahs in Israel, to further the study of Torah. But he only trusted Rabbi Tcheshik, so he wanted to put Rabbi Tcheshik’s name in his will to be in charge of distributing the money.
Mr. Goldblum expected the Rabbi to be pleased but he was mistaken. The Rabbi responded that it is impossible to know what will be in the future. It is better to keep a few million for yourself to live on and give the rest to the Yeshivahs now, while you’re still alive. But Mr. Goldblum refused and could not be persuaded to change his mind. Mr. Goldblum recorded the Rabbi’s passport number for identification, and he instructed his lawyer to enter the Rabbi’s name in the will.
Today, five years later, the Rabbi got a phone call from the U.S. Consulate in Jerusalem informing him that Mr. Goldblum had passed away, and that he should come to the Consulate with his passport. When he arrived, the ambassador confirmed the Rabbi’s identity, and told him to take a seat while he brought in all the people involved. The Rabbi wondered, what people? Did they gather all the Rosh Yeshivahs to the Consulate in East Jerusalem? What happened next was a shock. A door opened and over a dozen monks entered the room.
“So here we are,” the ambassador began. “Mr. Goldblum has bequeathed his entire inheritance to be distributed among the academies in Israel where Bible is studied, and Bible is studied in the monasteries represented by these monks.”
“Torah! Not Bible study. He was a Jew, not a Christian, and I am positive that he never dreamed of bestowing his wealth for monks to study the Bible! This is an enormous mistake.”
“It’s no mistake,” the ambassador replied. “Had your friend desired to bequeath his money to Jews, he would have made sure that it was written explicitly in his will, rather than relying completely on the discretion of his lawyers, all of whom are devout Catholics. And since Mr. Goldblum trusted you, Rabbi Tcheshik, to decide, we have gathered all of the monks, and you will decide which ones will get the money.
The Rabbi just returned from the Consulate. He wanted to shout, “Robbers! Thieves!” but he could only let out a groan. Mr. Goldblum did not merit to give to Torah. He didn’t have that zechut. It is only a zechut to support Jews who are learning Torah.
Reprinted from an email of the Jersey Shore Torah Bulletin
