Good afternoon, Mr. Holtzbacher! said Joel E. Munz.
Hello, Mr. Munz, Anshel Holtzbacher replied, as the two entered the massive Holtzbacher Industries office building. "What brings you here today?"
"Well, I was just on my way back to the factory after lunch when I saw you," Mr. Munz said, puffing on a large cigar. "I want to discuss my latest business idea with you. Do you have a minute?"
"Sure," Mr. Holtzbacher said, as they passed the security desk and walked towards the elevators. "What’s on your mind?"
"It’s like this," Mr. Munz began. "As you know, I’m always trying to help people. It always pains me to think about how much trouble parents have to go through in order to purchase candy for their children."
"Is it that much trouble?" Mr. Holtzbacher asked, wrinkling his nose as Mr. Munz released a large cloud of smoke from his cigar.
"Oh, like you wouldn’t believe! Why, every Thursday I see Jewish mothers and fathers walking into the grocery store to buy Shabbos treats for their children. But they don’t just select a few candies and leave - oh no. They end up buying all sorts of things like chicken, meat, vegetables - enough food to feed an army! They spend hundreds of dollars - and then they have to schlep dozens of bags of groceries home with them, and -"
"Um, can I interject for a second?" interrupted Mr. Holtzbacher, seeing an obvious flaw in Mr. Munz’s logic.
"Wait, let me finish," Mr. Munz said. "So anyway, with my love of making it easier for everyone to buy candy and your love of money, I came up with the greatest idea! You know how you have a faucet in your house so you don’t have to go to the store to buy water? And you have electricity and gas coming straight into your house as well?"
"Of course, those are basic utilities," Mr. Holtzbacher said, looking up at the elevator display, wondering why the elevator hadn’t arrived yet.
"Exactly! And candy will be the next new utility! We will install underground candy pipelines that go straight into people’s homes - all they need to do is hit a button and candy pops out of a chute next to their pantry!"
"Okaaaay..." Mr. Holtzbacher said, scratching his beard. "So what do you need me for?"
"To be my partner! I’ll supply the candy, and you’ll use your government contacts and industry expertise to install the underground candy pipelines throughout the city!"
"Yeah I’m sorry, I don’t really have time for that," said Mr. Holtzbacher politely.
"Don’t have time??? Don’t you realize how much money you’d make? And you have plenty of time! I see you sitting in the park every day during your lunch break reading that book you’re holding. You know, that’s valuable time you can use to make more money!"
"My dear Joel," Anshel said. "Let me tell you a story. Hashem gave the Jewish People the commandment to set aside six refuge cities (arei miklat) - three in the Land of Israel and three in Transjordan (eiver haYarden). Now this was a single mitzvah, one could only fulfill it by setting up all six cities. But Moshe decided to establish the three Transjordan cities, even though he knew he would never be able to enter the Land of Israel to complete the mitzvah.
"That’s strange. Why would he waste his time on that, when he could be busy with actual accomplishments?" asked Mr. Munz.
"That’s exactly the point, Joel. People invest their time in things that they love. Children love candy and toys. As they get older, many people develop a love for money. However, contrary to what you said a minute ago, I do not have a love of money. Sure, I work to keep my company in business so I can support my family and Mosdos Horki, but my true love is Hashem’s Torah and mitzvos. That’s why you see me in the park learning this Mishnayos that I’m holding. Any time I have a few minutes where I don’t have to work, I pull out my Mishnayos and learn. After work, I learn with my chavrusa. And after supper with my family I go right back to shul and learn until maariv.
"More than anyone else in the world, Moshe Rabbeinu had a burning desire to do nothing but Hashem’s will. So when he saw the opportunity to do half of a mitzvah, he did it without hesitation even though someone else would need to complete it for him."
DING! The elevator doors opened.
"So, my apologies, Mr. Munz. But I hope you now understand why I simply do not have the time to invest in your idea for underground candy pipelines to deliver treats directly to people’s homes."
Have a Wonderful Shabbos!
Let’s review:
- Why didn’t Anshel Holtzbacher accept Joel E. Munz’s offer to make more money?
- What does Anshel Holtzbacher do in his spare time?
