A Share in the World to Come

It is told that Noach, a talmid of the Apta Rav, had once been a wealthy and successful merchant, but he lost everything. He came before his Rebbe in despair. "All I have left is one ruble," he said, "and my daughter is old enough to marry, with nothing to marry her off with."

The Ohev Yisroel asked how much he would need for a respectable dowry and wedding. "One thousand rubles," Noach answered. "And how much do you have?" "One ruble." "It is enough," said the tzaddik. "Hashem's blessing can rest on one ruble as well as on a large sum. Go in peace, and accept the first business offer that comes your way. Remember that Hashem's salvation comes in the blink of an eye."

On his way home, Noach stopped at an inn. Too poor to buy the food that tempted him, he ate stale bread from his sack. Nearby sat some wealthy merchants enjoying a feast, and they decided to amuse themselves with the ragged stranger. They asked if he would like a business deal and how much money he had. "One ruble," he said at once. They laughed, and one merchant offered to sell him his share in Olam Haba for that ruble. Remembering his Rebbe's words, Noach agreed. The merchants even had a contract written up for fun.

Then the merchant's wife came in and learned what her husband had done. She was furious, and she demanded that he get the share back at once. "A Jew who sells his place in the World to Come as a joke is no husband for me," she cried. Noach was found and brought back. He agreed that the sale had been real, and said he would give it back only for one thousand rubles. When he explained that this was exactly the sum he needed for his daughter, and that the Ohev Yisroel had sent him to take the first offer, the merchant was moved to tears. He counted out the thousand rubles, tore up the contract, and said that the mitzvah of hachnasas kallah (providing for a bride) was worth the price.

His wife asked to meet the tzaddik who had blessed Noach, and the two went together. The Apta Rav welcomed them warmly, already aware of the merchant's generosity, and blessed them. The wife then asked whether her husband's share in the World to Come was truly worth a thousand rubles. The tzaddik answered that when he first sold it, it was not worth even one ruble, but now that he had given a thousand rubles for the mitzvah of hachnasas kallah, its worth could not be measured.