THE CATTLE MERCHANT

A wealthy cattle merchant was in a dilemma. He had many head of cattle to sell, but the market bottomed out. He went to R' Levi Yitzchak for advice. The Rebbe told him to use a certain herb to help stop the bleeding at the next circumcision he performed (the man was a mohel, ritual circumsizer). The man asked the rabbi, again, about the cow problem. The Rebbe simply replied that he had given him his answer.

The man stopped off at an inn on his way home. While there, he discovered that the young son of the innkeeper was not circumcised. The innkeeper explained that the boy had two older brothers that died as the result of the brit and he was therefore exempt from the mitzvah, lest he too, succumb. The man proposed that he be allowed to do the brit, since he had had experience with heavy bleeding. The man agreed on two conditions. First, that the man remain one full month to insure that no problems arise and two, that the man would have to put up a 400 ruble deposit. At the end of the month, he would get the deposit plus another 400 rubles payment. The man agreed.

The brit took place and the child bled heavily. Heading the Rebbe's advice, the man applied the necessary apothecaries and the bleeding stopped. A week went by and the child showed no ill effects from the procedure. In the meantime, the price of cattle picked up. He asked the innkeeper if he could be absolved of his conditions. The innkeeper refused. Another week went by and the prices of cattle soared. The man grew quite anxious as he wanted to get rid of his cattle. The innkeeper still refused. After four weeks the price of cattle hit an all time high. The man bid the innkeeper farewell received his deposit and payment and sold his cattle.

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