On the pasuk עוֹד יְנוּבוּן בְּשֵׂיבָה דְּשׁ ֵנִים וְרַעֲנַנִּים יִהְיוּ (Tehilim), there was once a person who wrote in his will (דְּ ייתִ יקִ י) that all his possessions should go to his only child, his son. There was a condition attached, however. He would not receive any of it עַד שֶׁיַּעֲשֶׂה שׁוֹטֶה – until he became foolish. Following the Shiva, he went to the safe to see how many millions awaited him, only to see that clause and not know what to do next. He feared the cats would see his father’s money before he did. He ran to his shul to speak with the rav, questioning how his father could lay out such terms. The rav defended his father, saying he was a very logical and sane man, so there must be some rhyme and reason to it all. They decided to go visit Rabbi Yehoshua ben Karcha, the gadol hador, to seek his guidance.
Rabbi Yehoshua ben Karcha was home alone at the time, together with his infant son, trying to feed him. The trick he used, according to the Midrash, was to insert a pacifier (גֶמִ י) in his mouth and then spit it out far. Each time he did this, the child would laugh, open his mouth in the process, and one spoon of food could be jammed in. Each Katyusha of the pacifier equaled one more spoon, and before long they were half done. At that very moment, the holder of the will, along with the town’s rav, walked up to Rabbi Yehoshua ben Karcha’s door and caught a glimpse through the window of something that froze them in their tracks. The gadol hador had a pacifier in his mouth! Maybe if it was an e-cigarette – that’s also a pacifier but for adults. A baby’s pacifier. In his mouth.
The rav said, “Maybe something happened. Let’s leave and we’ll come back in an hour.” They returned, and through the window they saw Rabbi Yochanan ben Karcha sitting at his table learning. They knocked on the door and entered, and presented the situation to him, asking how the son will ever be a שׁוֹטֶה and able to collect. The answer they received was priceless: “Oh my! It’s too bad you didn’t come here an hour ago! I had to feed my son and the only way I could get his mouth open was to act his age. You should have seen me!”
Rabbi Yehoshua ben Karcha went on to explain the full picture. The inheritor’s father was smart. He had a single child at an old age and wanted to make sure the inheritance wasn’t received at age sixteen or eighteen and blown on a Tesla! So, what did he do? He put in a clause that would inevitably lead to no money being transferred until the son had children. Once he’d have children, then he’d be ready. That is what he meant by the clause in the will. And that is also the answer to Michal bat Shaul’s punishment. She could not understand David HaMelech’s behavior, dancing in front of the Sefer Torah and in front of Hakadosh Baruch Hu, until she had a child.
