The respect that Dama ben Netina showed his father was legendary among the sages of Israel — and Dama was not even Jewish. He was a gentile merchant in Ashkelon, and his story became the gold standard for the commandment to honor one's parents.
The sages needed a precious stone — a jasper — to replace one that had fallen from the High Priest's breastplate. They learned that Dama possessed exactly the right gem. A delegation arrived at his shop and offered an enormous price — six hundred thousand gold dinars, according to some accounts.
Dama went to his strongbox to retrieve the stone. But the key was under his father's pillow. His father was sleeping. Dama looked at the key, looked at his father, and walked away.
He returned to the sages. "I cannot sell you the stone today." The sages, assuming he was negotiating, raised their offer. Dama shook his head. It was not about the price. His father was sleeping, and he would not disturb his rest for all the gold in the world.
The sages left. The deal was lost. Dama had forfeited a fortune.
But God repays measure for measure. The following year, a red heifer — the rarest and most valuable animal in Jewish ritual law — was born in Dama's herd. The sages returned and purchased it for exactly the amount Dama had lost. Not a coin more, not a coin less.
"If a gentile who was not even commanded to honor his parents showed such devotion," the sages taught, "how much more must we, who are commanded, strive to exceed him?" Dama's sleeping father earned more than money that day. He earned his son a place in the Talmud — forever.