Rabbi Samuel ben Sosarte, a great scholar of the third century, lived in the land of Israel. During one of his journeys to Rome, Rabbi Samuel found a string of beautiful pearls lying on the road. He picked the necklace up and admired its rare beauty.
“I wonder who lost such a rare treasure,” he thought. “Surely it belonged to a lady of great wealth and prominence,” he concluded.
He continued walking and soon came upon an excited crowd. He stopped to see what the gathering was all about.
In the center of the crowd stood a royal herald, reading a proclamation:
“To all citizens of Rome. Be it known that her Imperial Majesty this day lost a pearl necklace. Whoever finds it is hereby ordered to return it to Her Majesty within thirty days, and he shall be rewarded. If it shall not be returned within thirty days, the finder shall be beheaded!”
The proclamation was repeated several times, while the growing crowd spoke excitedly of the lucky man who found it and the reward he would get.
Rabbi Samuel listened to the proclamation in silence. He felt the pearl necklace in his pocket, and he knew it was the Queen’s. He also knew that a rich reward awaited him at the palace should he return the necklace in good time. But he was in no hurry to return it.
A day passed, and another, and many more. Every day he heard the proclamation repeated. Still Rabbi Samuel held on to the necklace.
Finally the thirtieth day came. It was the last day to return the necklace to the Queen. Rabbi Samuel took it out, looked at it, and put it away again.
He went to the palace and asked to see the Queen.
“I am indeed privileged to return this necklace to Your Majesty,” Rabbi Samuel said, giving the Queen the necklace.
The queen, who had already given up hope of ever seeing her beautiful necklace again, gasped with excitement as she beheld her most cherished treasure. For a moment her eyes were full of gratitude to the aged Rabbi. Then she realized that he had not returned it earlier.
“Why did you not return it sooner?” she asked.
“Your Majesty,” Rabbi Samuel explained, “had I brought the necklace within thirty days, it would have appeared that I returned it either for the sake of your reward, or for fear of your punishment. But neither is the true reason. I am returning it simply because our Torah commands us to return lost property to its owner. We do not return it for reward. Moreover, we are ready to die for the observance of our precepts...”
The Queen was deeply moved and honored Rabbi Samuel. For many years the story of Rabbi Samuel’s pure and sincere honesty was the talk of all the people of Rome.
Reprinted from “Talks and Tales”
