A number of years ago, there lived a very rich Jewish miser. When the local rabbi would come to him to collect funds for the poor, the miser would invite the rabbi in, offer the rabbi a tea and talk about his business. When the rabbi would start talking about the plight of the poor people in the winter, the miser would brush him off and tell him that poor people like to complain--it wasn't all as bad as the rabbi thought. The miser would then escort the rabbi to the door, go back to his warm room and settle down near the fireplace.
The rabbi was not pleased. The poor had no money for food or for stove-wood; they were hungry and cold.
One evening, the rabbi knocked on the rich miser's door. It was a cold and miserable night, snow and sleet blew through the streets. The miser asked the rabbi in, as usual. But this time, the rabbi refused. He stood by the door and inquired after the miser's health, and after the health of his family, and asked him about his business, and spoke about affairs of the community. The miser had come to the door dressed in a thin shirt and slippers and he was getting cold. The rabbi, wearing a warm coat with a fur lining and heavy winter boots talked on and on. "No thank you", he repeated each time to miser's numerous invitations to enter. And the miser got colder and colder, his toes were freezing, his teeth were chattering, his---
Suddenly the miser understood. "Oh, Rabbi!" he cried, "Those poor people with no warm clothes or firewood for winter.... I never imagined it could be like this. This is horrible. You are right-something must definitely be done!!"
He went into the house and returned with a purse full of gold coins. The rabbi took the money with a grateful smile and thanked him. This year, the poor people would have a good winter.
And the miser? He sure learned a good lesson that night and became a regular contributor to the rabbi's funds for the poor.
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