The following is a true story, told by Rabbi Elimelech Biderman from Jerusalem.
A little girl, of about seven years old went to a jewelry store, and asked the owner whether a particular piece of jewelry was real. The seller nodded and said, it was.
The little girl said she wanted to buy it, and the owner said, it costed a lot of money. “Do you have enough to pay for this expensive piece of Jewelry”, asked the owner.
The little girl smiled and said, yes she did. She took her purse, placed it on the counter, opened it and out poured some small change and a couple half shekels.
The seller explained to the little girl that this is was an expensive piece of jewelry that costs more than a thousand shekels, and asked, for whom she wanted to buy this, and why it was important for it to be real.
The little girl looked up to the owner and said.
"My mother died six months ago," explained the girl. "And my older sister took it upon herself the burden of taking care of the house. She devotes herself to me in a way that is hard to describe. She tucks me into bed, wakes me in the morning, prepares sandwiches and dresses me. She prepares classes for me in the afternoon, and plays with me….”
"Today she is 18 years old, and I wanted to buy jewelry for her and make her happy ..."
The girl finished her story innocently, and turned helplessly out of the store, realizing she had no money to purchase any real jewelry in this shop, and/or in any other store...
The seller called her back into the store and packed for her that piece of jewelry in a beautiful little box. Overwhelmed, and not able to overcome the pure innocence from the little girl, he said, “It’s my present to you.”
Two hours later, an 18-year-old girl comes with jewelry in her hand and asks, whether this was purchased at this store.
The owner responded positively.
"Did she pay?" Asked the older girl. And again, the seller nodded in the affirmative.
"Did you not wonder, where did she get the money from ?" Her older sister asked with suspicion.
"You see" said the seller, "there are those who pay me with money. And there are those who pay with goods of equivalent value. Your sister paid me, with her pure little innocent heart”...
***
In our prayers over the High Holidays we plead before G-d, “Not with kindness (that we performed) or with deeds (that we did) are we coming before You; We knock on your door and beseech and implore You, as poor and humble souls.
If we may not even have the few pennies and half shekels, if we only give our hearts over to G-d during these ten days, beginning with Rosh Hashanah until Yom Kippur, “G-d desires the heart”, we will secure the jewelry necessary, for a Sweet blessed New Year.
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