A man came down from Upper Galilee and hired himself out as a servant to a landowner in the south, and worked for him for three years.

On the eve of the Day of Atonement the man said to his master, "Sir, give me my wages, for I wish to return to my home and support my wife and children."

But the master said to him, You ask me to give you money; I have no money."

Then the man said, "If you have no money, give me corn. I will take it to my wife and children and feed them."

Then the master said, "I have no corn to give you."

And the man replied, "Then give me the vineyard or the field in lieu of wages."

But the master replied, "I have neither field nor vineyard to give you."

Then the man said, "Give me some cattle."

But the master answered, "I have no cattle either."

So the man said, "Give me some bedding or bedsteads."

But the master said, "I have none."

When the good man heard that his master had nothing to give him, he took his clothes in a bundle and put them on his back, and with an aching heart, he went on his way to his home.

When the holidays had passed, the master took the wages which the servant had earned, also three asses, which he loaded with as much as they could carry, one with food, one with good drink, and the third with good sweet fruit, and went up to his servant, and they sat down and ate and drank together. When they had eaten and drunk, the master gave the servant the wages which he had earned, and he gave him

also as a gift everything which he had brought.

Then the master asked him, "My dear servant, what did you think when you asked me for money and I said I had none? Did you suspect me of anything?"

The servant replied, "I thought possibly some valuable merchandise had been offered you at a low price and you had spent all your money in buying it."

Then the master asked, "What did you think of me when you asked me for corn and I said I had none to give you?"

The servant replied, "I thought perhaps you had not yet tithed it."

Again the master asked, "What did you think of me when you asked for my vineyard and field and I would not give them to you?"

The servant replied, "I thought perhaps they did not belong to you, and you could not part with them without permission."

Then the master said, "When you asked for pillows and beds, and I refused to give them to you, did you suspect me?"

The servant replied, "I thought you had devoted all your property to the sanctuary, and therefore it no longer belonged to you."

Then the master took an oath by the Holy One and said, "It was just as you thought. I had devoted all my property to the sanctuary because of my son Hyrcanus who refused to study the Torah, and then I went to my colleagues in the south and they

absolved me from my oath. And because you interpreted my actions in a kindly light, so may the Lord also look upon your works favorably and remember you always for good."

Thus he praised him.