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21 The Man Who Unintentionally Made His Fortune from the Devil R E ’ U V E N N A ‘A N A H Once there was a very poor man. His family was large and he barely made a living. He used to buy and sell old clothes to support himself and his family. All day long he went around buying and selling old clothes. He had a storeroom in a poor neighborhood, where he threw everything that was too hard to drag through the streets, until it [the room] was jammed full of all sorts of old clothes and used objects. One day, he was hunting around among all the junk piled up there, looking for something special for a particular buyer, when he accidentally nudged an old piece of copper . Suddenly, it began to speak: “Please, take me out of this filthy place and put me somewhere clean. As a reward, you’ll make a good living.” The man took the plate of copper and set it on a table in the corner of the storeroom. Then he went off on his daily rounds and forgot all about what had happened. That day he was very successful, earning more than he usually did in a whole week. When evening came, he remembered the piece of copper and what it had told him. But he thought it was just a coincidence . The next day he had even more success. In the evening, he decided to examine the piece of copper more closely. Entering the storeroom, he went over to the table where he had placed it. Once again the piece of copper spoke to him: If he wanted to do even better, he should take it [the copper ] and clean it and polish it until it shone. As a reward, he would have still greater success. At once the man complied with the request, thoroughly cleaning and polishing it until he could discern a figure engraved in the copper, though he still couldn’t make out what it was. He put the copper plate back on the table and left the storeroom. After that, his success was truly remarkable. Incredulous that he could earn such sums honestly in so short a time, he began to visit the place every day to see whether the copper plate needed anything. Again it spoke: If it was bringing him luck, why didn’t he find it a small clean 150 chamber, put a table there with a cloth, and set the plate on the table with a lamp in front of it. He should make sure that the oil never ran out, so the lamp kept burning night and day. Then he would see his success mount higher and higher! The man wasted no time in doing as it [the copper plate] asked. He found a small hidden room in his house, inside the wall, like a closet. In the room, he placed a small table with an attractive tablecloth. He laid the copper plate on the table, with an oil lamp in front of it. He took special care that there was always oil in the lamp, so the light would never go out. He attended to this day after day, unknown to the rest of his household, and his success was immense. Whatever came into his hands, he sold immediately and always for a handsome profit. He stopped dealing in used items and began trading in new merchandise and valuable objects. Success crowned his every endeavor. He acquired real estate until there were streets where all the buildings belonged to him. He was exceedingly generous. Finally, he decided to set up a hostel that would provide food, drink, and lodging for the poor and the hungry, all at his own expense; anyone who wished could enter hungry and leave feeling satisfied. One day an emissary collecting charity, a pious man and a great Torah scholar, came to his town. Where could he lodge? he asked. Did any Godfearing philanthropists live there? They [the townsfolk] told him about the generous rich man. “Did he inherit his wealth?” asked the emissary, “Or is he self-made?” They told him that he had been dreadfully poor and sold old clothes. Suddenly, though, his luck had changed, and in a very short time he prospered . Now his house was open to all, and he maintained a special hostel for poor people who needed to eat or drink and a place to sleep. The emissary...

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