A Guest on Silver Platters

It is told that Rav Pinchos lived in terrible poverty, in a shabby house that seemed ready to fall down at any moment. Once, his chassidim in another town invited him to spend Shabbos with them. In his honor they bought him a new suit and prepared a beautiful apartment for him.

On Friday night Rav Pinchos was in high spirits. "Here, where I am a guest, they feed me on silver platters like a rich man," he said, "while at home poverty reaches every corner of my house. I think my chassidim learned to treat me this way from the Torah itself."

He explained, "Parshas Pinchas describes the offerings for all of the festivals, yet its regular place, at home, is during the sad Three Weeks. But when this parshah comes as a guest, it comes on a festival, when we read the day's offerings from Parshas Pinchas as the maftir."