Rabbi Yosai ben Yoezer of Tziraidah says; “Make your house a meeting place for the Sages. Cling to the dust of their feet, and drink in their words thirstily.” (Avot 1:4)
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| Quickly, he took of his coat, and stufed it into the hole. |
Once there lived a great Sage named
Shmuel. He taught his students that they
must always be careful about their possessions.
If a person had fields or orchards, Shmuel said he should visit them every day
to see that they were in good condition. If anything needed to be repaired, it
should be taken care of right away.
Shmuel also taught that if someone was not careful to check his property, he
would suffer great losses. But if he was always careful to check his property,
Shmuel said that he would surely find gold.
Rav Assi was one of Shmuel’s students. In order to follow Shmuel’s teaching, he
used to visit his fields every day to see if everything was in order. He always
wondered if one day he would find gold, but he never did.
One day, when he went to look over his fields, he heard the sound of water
gushing. He decided to check it out. Near his fields there was a dam. The water
had burst through a hole, and was streaming out. If Rav Assi did not do
something quickly, all his crops would be destroyed.
Quickly, he took off his coat, and stuffed it into the hole. The water stopped
for a while, but shortly it began dripping once more. Soon, the hole would again
open up!
Rav Assi began to shout and cry for help. Other farmers heard him and came
running. They all worked hard, and soon succeeded in repairing the damage.
Everyone’s harvest was saved from the flood.
Then Rav Assi understood. “So this is the fortune of gold that Shmuel promised!
If I had not visited my fields today, all the crops would have been ruined! I
would have lost everything. How wise are the words of our Sages!”
Others said that Shmuel’s words were meant even for people who do not have
fields and orchards. Every day a person should check himself, to see if he has
behaved as he should. That way, if something is not correct we can set it right
immediately.
That is the only way to truly improve our character.
