Rabbi Yehudah Petaya (1859–1942), the student of Ben Ish Chai, told many inspirational stories which drew listeners closer to Hashem. Once he told this story: In Yerushalayim, every year before Purim, community leaders would send an emissary to Europe to collect money for Pesach for the poor citizens of Yerushalayim. The shaliach was chosen by lot. One year later, one of the prominent Rabbanim was chosen to go. He traveled to Europe, and being a well-respected Rav, he collected a good sum of money in a very short time and set off for home. A group of thieves ambushed him on his way home, stealing all of his money and threatening to kill him. His appeal was in vain. The gang leader, displaying a show of respect for his distinguished captive, told the Rav, "You are welcome to offer up your last prayers. Take all the time you require." The Rav started to daven to Hashem in a heartbreaking way. When he was done, he raised his head to the sky and exclaimed, "O Bird, O Bird, tell the Rabbanim in Yerushalayim that I was murdered and make sure to avenge my death." A bird was chirping on top of a tree.
The Rav brazenly revealed the gang leader exactly what he had said to the bird when he was asked what he was yelling about. The thief laughed mockingly at this and said to his accomplices in the heinous act, "This guy is nuts! How could a bird possibly inform someone that we eliminated a 'client' and then arranged to avenge his death?”
It's hard to believe, but our source is accurate: Soon after this episode, the thieves' leader gave up his nefarious and dishonorable profession to become a trustworthy businessman. He attracted the king's attention, showed him his intelligence, and was given the position of prime minister. Satisfied with his selection, the King instructed his new minister to locate a suitable location outside of Yerushalayim where he might host a grand celebration. The minister picked a location he was familiar with—the spot where he formerly carried out his evil trade.
When the King ordered his servants to begin getting ready for the celebration, everything went as planned. When all was said and done, the King came to supervise the arrangements. A street vendor materialized out of nowhere, yelling, "Who wants to purchase a lovely bird?" At any price the peddler would seek, the King instructed his minister to purchase it. The monarch instructed his chef to dispatch the bird, roast it, and prepare it for lunch. The Prime Minister received a part of the bird from the King once it was ready.
The wicked, evil person, started to giggle nervously when he noticed the bird on his plate since it brought up memories from the past. "What are you laughing about?" inquired King. The clergyman waved it off. But when it happened once again, the King lost all control and vowed to torture and kill the Minister if he didn't tell him why he was laughing so nervously!
With no other option, the man started telling the king his tale. Prior to becoming a merchant, I led a group of highwaymen. We killed and robbed a Rabbi five years ago. "Bird, O Bird, tell the Rabbis in Yerushalayim that I was murdered and make sure to avenge my death," the guy started to shout at a bird. "You are 100% right," the King cynically stated, grinning. How on earth could a bird communicate? Abruptly feeling dizzy, the Prime Minister begged the King if he may go back to his room and recuperate. The King instructed his minister to take a few days off before coming back to join in the celebration. After a few days, the prime minister came back, and a large number of dignitaries attended the celebration. "My new Prime Minister has an interesting story about a bird, and I want him to tell it to all of you," the King said, trying to quiet the assembly. The minister removed all traditional conscious and sensitivities. Feeling strangely flattered, he started bragging in front of the assembly about the captive Rav who, before his terrible and cruel demise, had given the order for a bird to announce his murder and exact revenge. Astonished by the outcry from the large gathering of people, the King angrily yelled at his minister, "A person without moral! Do you not feel guilty about your nasty past? Can you still claim with pride that you killed people? Regarding the bird, it did as instructed; the Rabbis of Yerushalayim will soon discover that their Rav was killed. We must now complete the bird's task and get revenge for the Rabbi's senseless demise!
The local Rabbanim were called by the King, who confirmed that one of their numbers had been absent for the previous five years. In order to authenticate his identity, the King gave them the whole account of his now-publicly-shamed Prime Minister, who attested to the victim's looks. Regretfully, the Rabbanim cited the words of wisdom from Koheles (10.20) attributed to Shlome Hamelech: Æm ¦iÆ ©n ̈y ©d s e ³r i ́¦k x« ̈a ̈c ci¬¥b©i m ¦i−©t ̈p §k l©r¬©aE l e ½T ©dÎz ¤` Ki ́¦l ei The voice will be delivered by the bird in the sky. These prophecy amazed the King, who shared the knowledge of Shlomo Hamelech with the assembly. The King then gave the order for his Prime Minister to be publicly hanged, donating all of his wealth to the Rav's destitute and grieving family. This caused a great Kidddush Hashem.
