The Butcher of Ludik Who Bought His Prosperity with Sabbath Meat

Rabbi Achiya, the son of Abba, used to tell this story of a Sabbath he spent in the town of Ludik.

He had been invited into the home of a wealthy man. The table was laid with a sumptuous meal, and the dishes — every platter and goblet — were of silver and gold. Before blessing the food, the host stood up and said, "The earth is the Lord's, and the fullness thereof" (Psalms 24:1). After the blessing, he sat down and said, "The heavens are the heavens of the Lord, but the earth He has given to the children of men" (Psalms 115:16).

Rabbi Achiya marveled at the man's simple piety and could not hold his question. "Forgive my boldness, sir," he said, "but how did you merit all this?"

The host answered without hesitation. "I was a butcher once. And every week, when I went to the market, I chose the finest cattle to be slaughtered for the Sabbath — so that the people of my town would eat the best meat on that holy day. I believe firmly that to this, and to nothing else, I owe my prosperity."

Rabbi Achiya looked at the gold plates and said, "Blessed be the Lord, who has given you all this."

The sages use the story to teach a plain lesson: honoring Shabbat is not only a private devotion. When a merchant tilts his whole business toward the seventh day, heaven notices. The silver plates are not the reward exactly; they are heaven's way of agreeing with the butcher's priorities.

(From the 1901 Hebraic Literature anthology, Rabbinical Ana section.)