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Kohelet (Shabbat Chol Hamoed Sukkot)
Story as told by Rabbi Herzfeld:

On Shabbat of Sukkot, we read the nook of Kohelet.  Kohelet states:
“A lover of money never has his fill of money, nor a lover of wealth his fill of income. That too is futile.”
There is a classic Chassidic story about how the love of money distorts our priorities in life.
One time the Ziditzover Rebbe was traveling and because of a storm he had to stop at a poor village where only one Jew lived.  This Jew welcomed him in graciously and gave him a supper of simple food and prepared a modest bed for him.
The Ziditzover noticed that every time his host did something for him, he did it with a sigh and a groan.
 He asked, “Why are you sighing?”
 The host responded, “Because I wish I could serve you with proper food and a proper bed.  I am too poor to serve you properly.”
The rebbe was very moved by his host’s sincerity and he called upon Heaven to bless this righteous Jew and to give him great wealth so that he could care for the poor in a more generous manner. 
The rebbe’s blessing was accepted by Heaven and almost immediately the host’s fortunes changed.  He soon grew fabulously wealthy and became the richest man for many miles.
But just as his fortunes changed so too, did his heart.  He was no longer a generous man who desired to help the poor and all guests who came to see him.  Instead, he became known for his unwillingness to help others and he even hired security to make sure no unwanted visitors came to see him.
Meanwhile, the Ziditzover’s fame and reputation grew.  He became known as one of the great spiritual leaders of his time.  When he heard of the change that had come over his old host he decided to go and pay him a visit.
As he approached the house where his host now lived, a security guard stopped him from entering and said that no one may enter unless that first make an appointment with a secretary.  The Ziditzover instructed the guard to tell his boss that the “man who first blessed him with wealth is now standing at his gate.”
The host quickly responded to this and came down to the gate himself to bring in the rebbe.
He brought the rebbe into his beautiful and luxurious dining room. 
The rebbe was staring out the window for a few moments seemingly deep in thought.  Finally, the host said to him: “What are you looking at?”  The rebbe said to him: “When you look out the window what do you see?”  The host said, “I see everyone on the street walking.”
Then the rabbi pointed at a mirror that the host had.  He said, “When you look at this mirror what do you see? 
The host responded: “When I look at this mirror, I see a reflection of myself.”
The rebbe explained, “A mirror is just a window with sone silver on top of it.  As soon as you saw silver you stopped seeing others and started to only see yourself.  It is now time to scratch away the silver so you can see yourself again.”
The host understood the message and immediately changed his ways.  He soon became known far and wide for his tremendous generosity.
 

Sukkah, please!

Yoni Friedman

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