Transcript
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[music]
>> Once upon a time, there was a Jewish man
who lived in a small Jewish town.
>> [music]
>> Yosef was his name.
Yosef had a luxurious and prestigious
hotel, and all the wealthy people used
to vacation there with their families.
Alongside his business, Yosef, [music]
who had a great love for the Torah, made
sure to regularly organize Torah lessons
in the town.
One day, a battalion of the Russian army
arrived in the town. The battalion
commander decided to make a stop and
camp specifically in that Jewish town.
It was Friday evening, just before the
lighting of the Shabbat candles.
>> [music]
>> Suddenly, the battalion commander had a
strong desire to drink some wine.
The soldiers began to ask the
townspeople where they could get some
[music] wine, and the residents replied
that wine could be obtained from the
manager of the town's large hotel,
[music]
Yosef.
The commander sent two soldiers to Yosef
so that [music] he would sell them a
bottle of wine, but to his astonishment,
Yosef refused.
"He is not willing to sell wine on
Shabbat," the soldiers explained to the
commander.
>> [music]
>> "How dare he?" the commander fumed, and
he ordered the soldiers to return to
Yosef and [music] inform him that if he
didn't sell him a bottle of wine, he
might pay for it with his life.
What will Yosef do?
After all, it is forbidden to sell on
Shabbat, and on the other hand,
>> [music]
>> a death threat hangs over him.
Poor Yosef.
Suddenly, a brilliant idea popped into
Yosef's [music] mind.
"I will give him wine for free," Yosef
thought to himself.
Yosef gave the soldiers the key to the
wine cellar and [music] asked them to
tell the commander that he was welcome
to take as many bottles of wine as he
wanted and [music] all for free.
When the soldiers told this to the
commander, his eyes nearly popped out of
his head.
"Who is this strange Jew who is
absolutely unwilling to sell me a single
bottle of wine, but is willing to give
me as many bottles of wine as I want for
free?"
"I must meet him," he declared.
The commander and the soldiers knocked
on the door of Yosef's house.
The door opened as the light of the
Shabbat candles shown from the house.
In the center of the living room stood a
long table with a white tablecloth
[music] spread over it and upon it were
placed beautiful and elegant dishes. The
family members were dressed in festive
[music] clothes and the aroma of
delicacies filled the entire house.
Yosef welcomed the guests [music] and
invited them to come inside.
"Why did you want to give me bottles of
wine for free instead of selling me one
bottle?" asked the commander. [music]
Yosef explained to him that he is a man
of faith and the creator of the world
forbade commerce on Shabbat.
"I preferred [music] to give up great
wealth rather than violate the will of
God," Yosef explained.
Afterwards, Yosef invited the commander
and his soldiers to join them for the
Shabbat meal as guests. They stayed and
joyfully ate the Shabbat delicacies
together with the family members.
Several years passed [music] and then
one day, police entered Yosef's hotel
and handcuffed him.
"You are guilty of treason against the
regime," the police said and led him to
the carriage.
Yosef found himself in prison, [music]
arrested for no fault of his own.
He wept, [music] prayed, and did not
stop reciting chapters of Psalms.
The next day, Yosef was led to a police
interrogation.
Into the dark and gloomy room entered an
officer.
>> [music]
>> Yosef slightly raised his slumped body
and his sad gaze. And when their eyes
met, their breath nearly stopped.
"It's you!"
the officer blurted out in astonishment.
"What are you doing here?"
It was the same officer who had stayed
at Yosef's house several years before.
The officer explained to Yosef that
there were several rebels against the
regime who used to come and stay at
Yosef's hotel. And from this,
>> [music]
>> they concluded that Yosef was also
plotting against the regime.
"I am innocent!" Yosef cried out. "I
believe you," the officer reassured him.
That same officer made sure to testify
in Yosef's favor at the trial that was
held. And Yosef [music] was set free.
Yosef returned home joyful and grateful,
thanking Hashem that through the mitzvah
of keeping Shabbat, he had [music] saved
his life and returned him to the embrace
of his family.
