A wealthy merchant was traveling far from home when he fell gravely ill. He knew he was dying. His only son was back in his homeland, too far away to reach in time. But the merchant had a slave — a clever, resourceful man who had served him for years.
The merchant devised an extraordinary will. He left everything — every coin, every property, every possession — to his slave. Everything except one item, which his son could choose when he eventually arrived.
The slave was overjoyed. He returned to the merchant's homeland as a rich man, master of a vast estate. The son arrived, destitute, and found that a slave now owned everything his father had built. He was permitted to choose one single item from the entire fortune.
Heartbroken and confused, the son went to the local rabbi for advice. "My father left everything to his slave and only one thing to me. What should I do?"
The rabbi smiled. "Choose the slave."
The son understood immediately. Under the law, everything a slave owns belongs to his master. If the son chose the slave as his one item, the slave's property — which was everything the father had owned — would automatically transfer to the son. The father had not disinherited his child. He had protected his inheritance.
The merchant knew that if he left everything to his distant son, the slave would have no incentive to preserve the property. He would let it rot, sell it off, or simply abandon it. But by making the slave the heir, the slave had every reason to maintain and protect the estate — because he believed it was his own. The father's cleverness ensured that his wealth survived the journey home intact.