DAMA, SON OF NETINA, lived in Ashkalon sometime in the first century C.E. Rabbi Eliezer was asked about the extent of the obligation to honour one's parents, and he pointed to Dama as a perfect example.
The Jerusalem Talmud relates: It happened once that one of the precious stones fell out of the High Priest's breastplate, and was lost. Seeking a replacement, the sages were referred to a non-Jew named Dama ben Netina, who purportedly had the exact jewel they required in his possession. They offered him one hundred dinar, and Dama accepted their offer. When he went to fetch the jewel, he discovered that he could not access it without waking his father as his father kept the key to the safe hidden inside his pillow. So he returned and informed his clients that he could not provide them with the item they sought as he did not wish to wake up his father.
Assuming that he was trying to renegotiate the price, they increased their offer until they reached a sum of 1000 dinar. When his father finally awoke, he brought them the jewel, and they were still willing to pay him their final offer of 1000 dinar. Dama, however, was only willing to accept their initial offer of one hundred, saying: "What? Do you think that I would sell the merit of honouring my father for money? I refuse to derive any tangible benefit for honouring my father!"
For his rare display of righteousness, a heavenly award was immediately bestowed upon him, as on that very night a pure red heifer–essential for attaining ritual purity–was born to Dama's cow, and he was paid a fortune for this extremely rare item.
