Transcript
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Once upon a time, long before Rabbi
Elazar bin Rabi Shimon Barai [music]
became a great and famous scholar, he
was just a young boy with a mischievous
smile [music] and some very unusual
powers.
One day, a group of wealthy merchants
came to [music] the city of Sidon.
They had come to buy grain, and in their
pockets were heavy bags of gold coins.
[music]
The merchants were very worried about
staying in a regular inn. "Who knows who
might [music] steal our money in the
night," they whispered to one another.
"So they [music] decided to go to the
home of Rabbi Shimon Barhai.
because everyone knew [music] that any
guest who came there would be welcomed
with open arms, a full table, and a soft
bed. [music]
When they arrived, Rabi Shimon wasn't
home. The one who greeted them was his
young son, Elazar.
The merchants tied up their donkeys
outside and sat down to rest.
As they settled, they noticed something
very unusual.
Elazar was sitting near the oven and his
mother [music] was pulling warm,
fragrant loaves of bread out of it. And
what did Elazar do? He ate and ate
[music] and ate loaf after loaf without
stopping, without getting confused. His
mother barely had time to pull the bread
from the oven before [music] he asked
for more.
In the end, he ate 12 whole loaves of
bread.
[music] The merchants whispered to each
other, "Poor child," said one. [music]
"He must have a hole in his stomach,"
said another. "Lucky there aren't many
like him, or all the bread in the world
would be gone." [music]
"But they didn't know one tiny important
thing. Elazar could hear and understand
every word. He said nothing, only smiled
quietly to himself.
After a while, the merchants left for
the market, leaving their donkeys tied
near the house. The moment they were out
of sight,
Elazar quietly slipped outside.
One by one, he lifted the donkeys
up to the attic as if they were tiny
puppies, not heavy animals. No effort,
no sweat, just like a game.
When the merchants returned, they were
terrified. "Where are our donkeys?" they
cried. They ran in every direction until
they saw Elazar standing there with a
big mischievous smile.
Then came the sounds of praying from
above.
They went up to the attic and saw all
the donkeys, healthy and unharmed, but
hungry and grumpy, looking as if to
complain about how they'd been treated.
Confused and a little embarrassed, the
merchants hurried to the study hall and
told Rabi Shiman Barai everything.
Rabi Shimon listened carefully and asked
quietly.
"Did you insult my son?" "No, we didn't
mean to," said the merchants. "We were
just talking about how much he ate."
Rabbi Shiman looked at them seriously.
And what business is it of yours? How
much he eats? Is it your bread? Hashem
provides for every person according to
their needs. Go ask for his forgiveness
and tell him I sent you. Let him forgive
you.
And what about the donkeys? They asked
nervously.
Don't worry, smiled Rabi Shimon. My son
will take care of it.
The merchants returned to Elazar and
asked for forgiveness with all their
hearts, telling him that his father had
asked them to.
Elazar smiled and forgave them
immediately.
Then he went up to the attic and brought
the donkeys down two at a time as if
they were light as feathers. The
merchants stood there, mouths open. They
had never seen anything like it.
Without another word, they hurried away
full of awe and respect.
And here's the surprising ending.
Many years later, when Elazar grew up to
become Rabi Elazar bin Rabi Shimon, a
great scholar who spent years in a cave
studying Torah day and night with his
father. The Torah itself exhausted him
so much that he could hardly even carry
his clothes.
Children,
here's the important lesson from this
story.
Sometimes we judge others by what we see
on the outside,
but only Hashem knows what each person
truly needs.
When we treat others with respect, we
discover all the light and goodness they
carry inside.
[music]
