The Receipt from Hebron
In an Italian rabbi's home, the Chida was shown a century-old receipt from Chevron, signed by his own forefather.
A story ofRav Chaim Yosef Dovid Azulaiהרב חיים יוסף דוד בן רפאל אזולאיProfile ›
In his diary, Maagal Tov, the Chida records a visit to Reggio Emilia in Nissan 5537 (1777). He was a guest in the home of the city's rav, Rav Yisroel Binyomin Bassan, and in the course of their conversation his host brought out an old document he thought might interest him.
It was a receipt for money that had been sent from Chevron in the year 5403 (1642–43). At the bottom stood the signatures of the men who had issued it: Rav Eliezer ben Archa, Rav Yosef ben Chizkiya Abuhav, and the mekubal Rav Avrohom Azulai, the Chida's own forefather.
The Chida was on a mission to gather funds for the poor of Chevron, and here, in a quiet home in northern Italy, lay proof that his own family had labored for the same community generations before him. Ink on a page had crossed more than a century and a quarter and set the name of his ancestor before him.
The Chida wrote it down, as he did so many things he met on the road. In later years the receipt found its way into the collection of the Ben-Zvi Institute in Yerushalayim, where it can be studied today.
Source: Rav Chaim Yosef Dovid Azulai, Maagal Tov (his own travel diary; entry for Nissan 5537, Reggio), first printed from the autograph manuscript by Aron Freimann. Selections appear in English as The Diaries of Rav Haim Yosef David Azulai.
Most of what we do each day rests on someone else's quiet effort: a grandparent who kept Shabbos, a teacher who stayed late, a stranger who raised money for a shul you now daven in. This week, find one such person and thank them, or write down their name and one thing they gave you. If you are building something yourself, be patient. You may never meet the person who is helped by it, but your work can still reach them.