The Butcher's Coins

It is told that another time, the young Yehonoson's wisdom saved the Jews of Finsthov from their enemies. A Jewish spice merchant in town had a butcher for a neighbor, a man who had hated Jews for a long time. Only a thin wall of cheap boards separated their shops.

One day, after very good business, the merchant sat down to count the day's earnings. He did not know that a pair of eyes was watching him through the cracks in the partition. The butcher noted every coin and saw where the merchant put the money. The next morning he went to the police and told them that a large sum of money had been stolen from him. He described the coins and declared that his Jewish neighbor must have taken them.

The police searched the Jew's shop and found the money. Nothing the merchant said could help him. The butcher's description seemed to be clear and unmistakable proof. Not only did the merchant face a severe prison term, but the anti-Semites of the town used the incident to stir up hatred against all the Jews of the city.

The Jews gathered to discuss how to prove the man's innocence. Little Yehonoson sat in his father's home, where his father was the Rav of the city, and listened to the discussion. Then he asked permission to whisper something to his father.

“Father, I know how to prove that the Jew is innocent. If the money really belongs to the butcher, it must be covered in grease, because he received it from customers while selling them fatty meat. Let them put the coins in water. If fat floats to the surface, the Jew is guilty. If there is no fat, it is a sign that the money is his, and he is innocent.” They tried it, and the truth came out. Yehonoson had saved the merchant from prison and the Jews of his town from persecution.