I know that Succos is over, but I heard a story over the holiday that I have to share in this blog. It is a true story, and the person who told me was the descendant of the couple discussed. There was a Jewish family in Russia who were very poor (this was not uncommon). They hardly had anything to eat and the mother would have to spend more time scrounging for food than preparing meals for her children. However, her husband knew the importance of the mitzvah (commandment) to hold a beautiful etrog ( a type of citrus fruit grown in the land of Israel) on Succos. An etrog is a very serious matter to many people, and some even spend hundreds of dollars to find the perfect etrog. He had no money to buy a beautiful etrog, so he sold his tefillin (black boxes with straps containing Bible verses). This is a very big deal; a man cannot say his morning prayers properly without tefillin. Yet, he sold his tefillin and with the money, he purchased the most beautiful etrog in the village.
He was so proud, he rushed home to show his wife. Little did he know that she was under tremendous stress since the children had consumed the last crumbs of bread and she was frantically trying to figure out where the next meal was coming from. When her husband came home and presented the family with his beautiful etrog which cost hundreds of dollars (don’t know what would have been in rubles), she immediately grabbed the etrog and bit of the tip of it, rendering it non-kosher for use during the holidays. Although the man felt that his world was falling apart, especially since he now had neither tefillin nor etrog, he did not lose his temper. In fact, he said nothing, and went to bed.
It is said that when this man, who was known for having a temper, refused to get angry at his wife, he caused more pleasure in Heaven than if he would have prayed with his tefillin and his etrog.