The Lamplighter's Reward
from Jewish Children International - Tzivos HaShem

Many years ago there lived in Tunisia a saintly rabbi, who was highly respected by both the Jews and the Arabs.

Rabbi Tzemach Tzarfati spent all his time studying the Torah.

After snatching a few hours of sleep, it was his custom to get up in the middle of the night to recite "Lamentations" for the destruction of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem, then to immerse himself joyfully again in the study of Torah till the early hours of the morning.

One night, he was dismayed to find that he had no matches to light his oil lamp. Then he remembered that his Arab neighbor, the baker, would probably still have fire in his oven. So the Rabbi went across the street and knocked on the baker's door, hoping he might still be awake.

The baker had already gone to bed and was fast asleep. The Rabbi kept on knocking until the baker finally opened the door and demanded, sleepily, to know why he was being disturbed in the middle of the night.

"I'm sorry to bother you," said Rabbi Tzemach apologetically, `'but I need a light for my lamp."

There were still some flickering coals in the oven, so the baker kindled a firebrand and gave it to the Rabbi.

Rabbi Tzemach thanked the baker and left. He had hardly crossed the street when the wind blew out the firebrand. As much as he hated to bother the baker again, Rabbi Tzemach made his way back to the bakery and knocked again on the door.

The sleepy baker got out of bed again and opened the door, looking surprised and annoyed.

"Please forgive me for troubling you again, but the wind blew out the light. I am very sorry..."

Muttering to himself, the baker went to fetch a freshly lit kindling stick, and gave it to the Rabbi without a word. Rabbi Tzemach thanked him very much, wished him a very good night, and left.

This time he reached his door successfully, but just as he was about to open it, a gust of wind blew out the light again.

"Enough is enough," a voice inside of him said, "give up and go to bed!"

"Oh no!" Rabbi Tzemach heard himself say, determined that he would not let anything deprive him of his precious Torah-study. He turned around and went to his Arab neighbor for the third time.

Not surprisingly, the baker was angry this time, and he did not attempt to hide it.

"With all due respect to you, honorable Rabbi, it isn't funny being repeatedly disturbed in the middle of the night, after a day's hard work, not to mention this heavy iron bar which I have to lift each time I have to open the door for you!"

"Believe me, I am truly sorry to cause you so much trouble, but it is most important that I can light my lamp to study G-d's Torah. G-d will surely reward you for your good deed with so much gold that would outweigh by far that heavy iron bar!"

Like all the local Arabs, the baker had a great respect for the saintly Rabbi's blessing. His anger quickly disappeared and, in fact, he hastened to say, "I see you are not used to handling fire brands; this time I'll take it across for you and make sure that your lamp is lit."

Saying this, the baker put on his coat, took a burning kindling stick, and, sheltering it with his coat, successfully brought it into the Rabbi's house and lit his lamp.

Happy to have received such a wonderful blessing from the saintly Rabbi, the baker returned home, while the Rabbi sat down with a grateful heart and immersed himself in his Torah study.

The baker had no doubt that the Rabbi's blessing would be fulfilled. But day followed day and nothing happened. He continued to sweat at his oven, scraping coal, but not gold.

"I guess I am not worthy of the Rabbi's blessing; I'd better forget all about it," the baker concluded sadly.

One day, as he took a stroll towards the bazaar to cool off and catch a breath of fresh air, a stranger approached him and asked him if he was looking for work.

"I have a job. I'm a baker, and while it brings me no riches, I make a living, thanks to the One above."

"I see you're an honest man," said the stranger. "I need a man like you for my business. What if I offered you five times the amount you earn from your bakery; would you be interested to work for me for a few months?"

"If it's just for a few months, I'd first have to find someone to take over my bakery for that period of time."

"Good," said the stranger. "Let's meet here tomorrow, same time, same place."

The following day, when the baker arrived at the arranged meeting place, the stranger was already there waiting for him.

"I'm ready to start working for you," the baker announced.

"Very good, come with me."

The stranger led the baker through a maze of unfamiliar winding streets, up hill and down hill, turning now right now left, until he finally stopped in a side alley.

"I hope you'll not mind being blindfolded," the stranger said to the baker. "No one, not even you, must know where you are working; and you must not breathe a word to anyone about the kind of work you're doing for me."

The stranger took out a long kerchief and blindfolded the baker. They continued walking for a short distance, then stopped again. Here the stranger led the baker down some steps, took out a long key and opened a creaking rusty door.

"Here we are," said the stranger, removing the blindfold from the baker's eyes.

The baker found himself in a windowless cellar, where, by the light of a lamp which the stranger had lit, he saw a long table, with a couple of chairs. On the table lay lots of small bags, bulging with golden coins and jewels, worthy of a royal treasury.

"Your job," said the stranger, "is to help me separate the coins and jewels and sort them out in heaps according to their size. Then you will have to count them, record the totals, and put them into bags. I will show you how to do all this."

They got busy without further talk except for the instructions which the baker received. He liked the work very much, and the time passed quickly.

"That's enough for today," said the stranger finally. He gave the baker his day's wages, five times the amount he would have earned from his bakery, then he put by a golden coin, saying," Each day, in addition to your wages, I shall put aside a golden coin for you, and when the entire job is finished I shall give you all the accumulated coins as a parting gift."

The stranger again blindfolded the baker, unlocked the cellar door, and led him out, carefully locking the door after them.

Up the steps they went and at some distance later he removed the blindfold. They continued by a different way and finally came to the place where they had met for the first time.

"Until tomorrow morning, same time, same place," the stranger said, and went his way.

Thus, they met every morning and spent the day working together in that secret cellar, until one morning, several weeks later, the stranger did not turn up. The baker waited for him for a long time in vain, so he went home. The same thing happened the following day. When the boss didn't turn up on the third day either, the baker concluded that something must have happened to him, for they had not finished their work. "Where can I look for my boss? I don't know his name, or where he lives; so that's the end of that." There was nothing left for him to do but to return to his work at the bakery.

When he thought about all those golden coins which his kind boss set aside for him, and were waiting for him at the secret cellar, the baker felt sad. He remembered the Rabbi's blessing. Those golden coins would have made him a rich man, though not nearly as rich as he had expected if the Rabbi's blessing came true. But now he had lost even that! True, he had saved quite a bit from his wages, but now that he had to go back to his bakery there was not much of a chance that he should ever see a golden coin again. "Well, so be it," he thought, and dismissed the whole matter from his mind.

A few days later, when the baker was in the market place, he heard the town-crier calling out that a house on the outskirts of the town was up for public sale, as the owner had died without leaving any heir or will. It immediately occurred to the baker that this could very well be the house with the cellar where he had been working for the stranger.

The following morning, the baker took his savings and hastened to the auction. The house proved to be no great attraction by the look of it; it was old and dilapidated. No wonder there were very few people who were eager to make a bid for it.

The bidding started low, and when the baker raised his offer to an amount he felt he could scrape together by selling his bakery, there was no one who was prepared to outbid him. So his modest offer was accepted, and he put down the money he had with him as a deposit.

In due course the purchase of the house was completed, and the baker received the keys and title to the house. Thereupon, he moved into the house, and immediately made his way downstairs to the cellar. His heart beating with anticipation and excitement, he tried one key after another until he finally unlocked and opened the creaky door, carefully closing and locking it after him. Then he lit the candle he had taken with him, and lo and behold! The scene was exactly as he had left it the last day he had worked there. There were the neatly stacked up piles of golden coins on the long wooden table, and the jewels, and half emptied bags as well as many bulging bags with gold and gems that had not yet been touched. What good fortune that no one had been interested enough in the house to go down and take a look at the cellar!

After feasting his eyes on all that treasure which was now his, he sat down to ponder his new situation. He realized that he could not suddenly show himself in town as a wealthy man, for everybody knew him as a poor baker. If the local authorities would get wind of his wealth, it would be the end of it for him. So he thought of a plan.

He began to drop a word here and there among his friends and neighbors that he had received word from his uncle in Istanbul, who had no children and was getting old, asking him to come to live with him and help him in his business. This gave him an excuse to make several trips to Istanbul and transfer his entire fortune there.

The erstwhile baker bought a beautiful, palatial home in the center of the city and presented himself as a prosperous diamond merchant. He set up a large business, and soon became very influential in government circles. Never did he forget, however, that all his good fortune came to him as a result of the Rabbi's blessing, and he hoped that he would some day be able to repay him as he richly deserved.

Many years passed since that night when Rabbi Tzemach Tzarfati troubled his Arab neighbor, the baker, to light his lamp for him. The aged Rabbi, whose lifelong yearning was to be reunited with the Divine Presence at the sacred Western Wall in the Holy City of Jerusalem, now decided to spend his last days in the Holy Land.

When the leaders of the Jewish community in Tunisia learned of their beloved Rabbi's decision, they provided him with all the necessary expenses, as well as with a companion to care for him on the long, difficult journey. They also sent out letters to the heads of the Jewish communities in the various cities where Rabbi Tzemach would be stopping on his way to the Holy Land, so that they would be prepared to receive the venerable Rabbi with the honor and respect due to him.

Thus, Rabbi Tzemach arrived in Istanbul where he was duly received with honor and affection. The head of the Jewish community invited him to be his guest for as long as he would care to stay.

While inquiring about the state of the Jewish community, Rabbi Tzemach asked his host if there was anything he could do for the community whilst he was in Istanbul. The head of the community heaved a deep sigh and replied:

"As it happens, our Jewish community is in serious difficulties at present, due to certain decrees that the government has imposed. The only person who can help us is a rich effendi who had great influence at the royal court. A delegation of our community leaders is going to meet with him tomorrow. However, we are quite concerned about the outcome, as we have never approached him before, and we have no idea how he will react to our request. Would the worthy Rabbi care to join our delegation? With the help of G-d, and in your merits, the chances of success would surely be increased."

Rabbi Tzemach readily agreed to go along with the delegation.

As soon as the delegation was ushered into the room where the effendi awaited it, everyone was startled and astonished to see the effendi spring up from his seat and rush to Rabbi Tzemach to welcome him. The effendi grasped the Rabbi's hands and kissed them reverently. "I am so happy and honored to see you, Rabbi," he said excitedly.

Rabbi Tzemach looked as much surprised as everyone present.

Returning to his seat, the effendi asked everyone to be seated, and said, "I am now ready to hear your request."

The head of the Jewish community then told the effendi about the difficult situation the community faced if the harsh decrees were put into effect. He begged the effendi to use his influence at the royal court to persuade the king to rescind them.

"I give you my word," the effendi promised, "that I shall not rest until I carry out your request." Then he added, "Now, honorable representatives, please excuse me while I speak for a while to the distinguished guest from Tunisia."

Thereupon the effendi led the Rabbi to a private room, and when they were both seated, began at once:

"I see that the Rabbi is puzzled to see me so moved by our meeting. Let me remind you of something that happened many years ago. In Tunis, across the street from your house there lived a baker. Once, in the middle of the night, the Rabbi needed a light."

A happy smile appeared on the Rabbi's face. Of course he remembered that night, and he now realized that the baker and the effendi were one and the same person.

"As you see, holy Rabbi, your blessing came true, beyond my wildest expectations."

The effendi then confided to the Rabbi how, in a very strange and wondrous way, he had come to his great wealth, and had never forgotten for a moment that it was due only to the Rabbi's blessing. He further told the Rabbi how he cherished the hope to see him again and repay in some small measure for the good fortune he had brought him. This is why he was so excited to see him and so eager to fulfill the request of the Jewish community.

Having told his story to the Rabbi, the effendi produced a purse filled with golden coins and said, "I would consider it a privilege if the Rabbi would accept this as a personal gift."

The Rabbi declined it with thanks, assuring the effendi that all his needs have been provided for.

Before parting, the effendi begged the Rabbi to bless him again that his good fortune should continue to shine on him.

"You see, my friend," the Rabbi replied, "The Al-mighty pays his debts. In the merit of the good deed you performed to bring light into a Jew's home, so that he could study Torah, the Al-mighty brightened your life with good fortune. Be good to the Jews. And be generous with your wealth to help anyone in need, then G-d will continue to bless you with good health and prosperity.