"The time has come for me to depart this world," the father whispered to his son, Matzliach. "But before I die, I wish to impart to you something I was told by own father before he passed away: Choose one mitzva to observe with self-sacrifice and devotion, even if it means spending all your money. In the merit of this mitzva, G-d will protect you from all harm."
With tears in his eyes Matzliach promised his father to carry out his final wishes, and resolved to be particularly scrupulous about washing his hands in the ritual manner upon awakening. Indeed, Matzliach lived up to his promise, and was always very careful to observe this mitzva.
In the meantime Matzliach had become successful, with business dealings in many foreign countries. One time it became necessary for him to go on a business trip to a distant land. Aside from his talit and tefilin and a supply of kosher food, he made sure to take along a giant-sized water skin, so he could wash his hands wherever he went without difficulty.
As was common in those days, Matzliach joined a caravan of other merchants to cross the desert. The camels had only made it halfway through, however, when a terrible storm erupted. Blinding winds whipped up the sand and made it impossible to see where they were going. After a few days of wandering they realized that they had been going in the wrong direction. The wasted time meant that much of their precious water had already been used, and they would now have to pool their supply. As the head of the caravan explained, everyone would receive the same daily portion for the remainder of the journey.
This was not good news for Matzliach, who was forced to relinquish his water skin. And although he resolved to drink very little and use the rest for washing, the daily portion turned out to be a scant few ounces. Matzliach went to the head of the caravan and explained his predicament. "I need more water to wash my hands," he said, but the camel driver only burst out laughing. "It is entirely out of the question," he told him. "In the middle of the desert washing is a luxury, not a necessity."
But Matzliach could still hear his father's words echoing in his head. "I will give you all my money for an extra allotment of water," he offered. The head of the caravan immediately agreed, and the money was divided among all the travelers. Everyone thought that Matzliach must have lost his mind when he handed over his knapsack filled with golden coins, but the Jew seemed happy with the arrangement.
Towards the end of the journey Matzliach decided there was no longer any reason for him to stay with the group. Without any money with which to conduct business, he left the caravan and set out on his own. That evening he found himself in a forest, and started looking for a spot to spend the night. Matzliach was deep within the forest when he came across the remains of a campfire. The coals were still warm, indicating that it had only recently been abandoned. A short distance away he found a stream. He quickly bathed, drank to his heart's content and refilled his water bag.
At that moment Matzliach heard the sound of approaching footsteps and scrambled up the nearest tree to hide. When he looked down he saw a band of armed robbers, their arms filled with stolen booty and leading a prisoner along in chains. Matzliach could hardly believe his eyes: Their captive was none other than the head of the caravan, to whom he'd said good-bye that morning.
Matzliach watched as the robbers pushed aside a rock to reveal the mouth of a cave; one by one they entered and disappeared. Matzliach stayed awake the entire night. Towards morning he heard the robbers leave. When the last robber had disappeared over the horizon Matzliach climbed down, pushed the rock aside as he had seen them do, and stepped in.
His eyes were almost blinded by the treasure they encountered. Room upon room was filled with gems, precious stones and coins. Wandering about the cave, Matzliach found two prisoners in irons in a side chamber. One was the head of the caravan, who told Matzliach that their convoy had been attacked just moments after his departure. The other was the only son of the local sheik, who had led a group of soldiers on a failed mission to eliminate the band of robbers. All of the other soldiers had been killed, and the robbers were demanding a huge ransom for his release.
Matzliach immediately freed the captives and they escaped. The sheik was overjoyed to see his son, and on Matzliach's advice, dispatched another group of soldiers who this time captured the robbers and put an end to their terror. Matzliach, of course, was amply rewarded by the sheik. But as Matzliach knew, everything had happened in the merit of his devotion to observing a mitzva scrupulously.
