By Rabbi Shmuel Choueka
A story is told of a Rabbi who used to give out money to poor people every Friday to help them with their Shabbat expenses. Many people would come to him every week, and he would always give everyone the same amount of money. One week, a man came to the Rabbi and asked if he could get twice the amount. The Rabbi explained sympathetically that he doesn’t give anyone more than the set amount. The man then began to scream insulting remarks at the Rabbi, after which he stormed out of the Rabbi’s office.
The Rabbi told his attendant, “Quicky, run after him and give him the money he was asking for.” When the attendant left to catch the man, the other people in the room asked the Rabbi, “Why would you give him more money after the way he just disrespected you?”
The Rabbi said, “I know this man. He has been here many times before and he has never acted this way. It must be that he is under extreme pressure this week due to his dire situation and he just lost control. My honor is not important. What matters right now is to get him what he needs in order to help him out of his difficult situation.”
Reprinted from the Parashat Re’eh 5782 email of Rabbi David Bibi’s Shabbat Shalom from Cyberspace.
