Suppose You Call a Sheep's Tail a Leg

The goal of this blog is to enhance reality at the Shabbat table....
In memory of my father - Dovid ben Eliezer - who's 11th yahrzeit will be Monday, August 1.

They say the following riddle was really said by Avraham Lincoln:

Suppose you call a sheep's tail a leg - how many legs does it have?

The answer, of course, is four.

Calling a tail a "leg" does not make it a leg.

Or does it?

Lincoln reminds me of my father (tall, beard, bow-tie, wry humor, lawyer)....

And my father reminds me of his generosity.

And generosity reminds me of this true story with a moral dilemma - how would you (and the folks at your table) answer it?

 

Mordechai (not his real name) was a very wealthy philanthropist. One day Shlomo, a needy member of the community came to him to ask for his help with a pressing family matter that required a substantial financial obligation. Mordechai was very distracted by an overload of work but had sympathy on Shlomo and gave him a check with a generous donation. Shlomo left thanking Mordechai profusely for his generosity.

Some time later Shlomo went to deposit the check. He then saw the problem: the numeric box had the amount $300. But the written amount said “three thousand dollars”. Shlomo assumed that the latter was the correct amount (remember, Mordechai was very wealthy and very generous), and attempted to deposit $3,000. The bank teller didn't know what to do and called the bank manager. The bank manager happened to know Mordechai. She called him up to ask him which amount he intended to give to Shlomo. “Is it $300 or $3,000? You can decide now, how much do you want to give, sir," the manager told him.

Mordechai rememebered giving Shlomo the check, but couldn’t recall which amount he had wanted to give. It was clear that he made an error, but he couldn’t remember if his error was that he left out a 0 in 3,000, or wrote the word thousand instead of hundred. Moreover, in his haste he had neglected to write it in his check ledger. That day Mordechai's cash flow happened to be slightly more limited, and he preferred to give $300, but he didn’t want to renege on his commitment if he meant to donate $3,000. Mordechai wondered if he is he obligated to give the larger number.

What do you think is Mordechai’s obligation?

And what would you do?

Shabbat Shalom


PS - Still time to help you favorite teacher or school - teachamazingnature.com.


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For Whose Benfit?

For Whose Benefit??

As presented a few weeks ago, your Table Talk is in summer L'Chaim mode.

The suggestion is this:

At some point during the Shabbat meal, pour everyone their favorite beverage for a l'chaim.

But ask them not to drink until after you finish the story. Make this a ritual every Friday night, and your family will look forward to it.




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L’Chaim Story
Parshat Re'eh

“For Whose Benefit?”

Rabbi Shmelke of Nikolsburg was very active in the mitzvah of tzedakah. Not only did he give of his own meager salary, he also took the trouble to collect money from others, urging them to give according to their ability. In every way he could, he gathered a great deal of money for charity.

As Pesach is an expensive holiday, he made an extra effort at that time of year to collect.

He once came to a wealthy man’s house for this purpose. The man welcomed him with honor and offered drinks and cakes. Rabbi Shmelke asked for a large donation for tzedaka, but the man said that his financial situation was not as good as it had once been and he was losing money. Therefore, he said, he was unable to give a large amount and wished to donate a small one instead.

But the Rabbi refused to take this small amount from him. He got up to go!





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For copyright reasons, the rest of the story may not be displayed here, but we'll be happy to send it along, just send an email.
 
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Question for your table... What do you say - Does tzedakah benefit the giver more than the receiver?


Shabbat Shalom


PS - For guidelines on giving tzedakah, including prioritizing, click here.

PPS - Want to make your Table Talk rabbi happy? Like it, tweet it, or just forward it to someone who might enjoy it.

Excerpted and adapted with permission from Stories My Grandfather Told Me, Vol. 5, © 2001 ArtScroll/Mesorah Publications. All rights reserved. Get the book here.

What Goes Around

In honor of the birthday this week (Hebrew) of Harmon Shragge, one of the most giving people I know.

There’s a story in the Talmud about Rabbi Akiva’s encounter with Roman governor Tarnus Rufus. The latter asks the rabbi, “If your God loves the poor, why doesn’t he help them? If you believe that God made them that way, then giving them money is going against God’s will!”

Question for your table: What would you guess was Rabbi Akiva’s reply?

Shabbat Shalom


PS – your movie of the week is about that uplifting topic of the national debt: IOUSA
(please don’t shoot the messenger!)

And if you missed last week’s most amazing film, here's an encore: