Last week was the ending of Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles). I had ordered a book that contains all sorts of stories and anecdotes about the holiday but did not get it until afterwards. There was one story that I liked enough to send along even if the holiday is over. Here it is.
A Rare Privilege
Rabbi Mordechai was not very wealthy but each year he managed to save up enough money to buy a nice lulav and etrog set[1]. On his way to a nearby city to buy it though, he came across a man who was crying next to a cart and his dead horse.
Filled with compassion, he asked the man, “Why are you crying?”
“My horse was just killed in an accident and without him I am unable to earn a living” the man said.
Immediately Rabbi Mordechai gave his lulav & etrog money to the man so that he could buy a new horse. He said, “God commanded me to wave the lulav and etrog, but He also commanded me to take care of the needy.” So he returned home empty handed.
When the village folk asked to see his new set, he told them, “All Jews will say a blessing over the lulav and etrog during Sukkot. But this year, only I have the rare privilege of saying it over a horse.”
[1]The lulav is a bundle of 3 plants; myrtle, palm, and willow. An etrog is a citrus fruit grown in
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