Sweeter than honey is
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Baltimore Edition:
This is not meant to rule practical halachah; rather it’s to show the sweetness of learning.
Based on Rav Yitzchok Silberstein’s seforim
Who To Ask?
Of course to Rav Yitzchok Silberstein Shlita.
Who makes Torah Learning so sweet & geshmak…
Printing a New Sefer
Aharon wanted to print a new sefer and asked his best friend, Menachem, if he could lend him some money to go to print.
Menachem said, "Here is $25,000. I believe your new sefer will be a best seller. It has short stories, inspiration, and even some jokes too! You’ll make back all the money and then pay me back.”
Aharon carefully put the money between two seforim. Everything seemed safe.
Aharon's wife one day forgot and left the door unlocked, and when they came home, the whole house had been turned over. Someone turned over and searched the whole house; the house was a mess.
Aharon quickly looked for the $25,000 cash and it was gone. It had been right next to a certain sefer, and now it was gone.
Not only did he not have the money to print his sefer now, but how on earth would he pay back his friend?
He was about to ask who left the door open, and get angry but then he stopped. Taking a deep breath, he put on music, smiled at his children, and said, “it’s all from Hashem. Let’s dance and celebrate we trust Hashem that He does only good and has a good plan.”
A next-door neighbor came over, curious and asked “What’s with all the music? Is there a family simcha?” After hearing the story, the neighbor was very impressed.
The next day, he told his business partners how Aharon had reacted with joy instead of sadness. One partner said he was impressed that he wanted to give $25,000 to give back for whoever lent the money, and another $25,000 to personally sponsor the sefer.
A while later, Aharon was almost ready to print his sefer when he decided to do early Pesach cleaning and there it was. The $25,000 that Menachem had given him, hiding quietly between the seforim all along.
Aharon froze. He wasn’t sure if he had to look for the person who sponsored and return the money. He was so confused and wasn't sure what to do.
Printing a New Sefer - Halachic Insights
- Chazal say (Sukkah 20b) that even if a person is going through a painful life situation, he should calm his mind enough to be able do mitzvos.
So in our case, Aharon reacted with holy emunah, which was an amazing reaction. But it was wrong and not responsible to decide so quickly that the money was stolen; he should have calmed his mind before quickly deciding not to check more carefully. He was wrong for this. The person probably wouldn’t have spent so much money had he known that Aharon hadn’t checked carefully. - The Gemara (Bava Metzia 35a) says that if a person was given something to watch and then says, “I don’t remember where I put it,” the person is responsible to pay for it.
It’s not an excuse, and he should have been more careful. Our case as well: Aharon is responsible and had to know where it is. Therefore, it was probably money that was given by mistake. It must be given back. - What happened at the end of the story?
When Aharon spoke to the sponsor and apologized, saying he hadn’t checked carefully and that the money was never stolen, he felt so bad. The person was so impressed by his honesty that he said, “I am so impressed with you being so honest! Don’t worry about it, it’s a zechus to help such a person like you.”
