A Story for Shabbat: The Price of Words

Shock spread through the synagogue. During the silent Amidah prayer, a boy suddenly shouted out a vulgar phrase loud enough for everyone to hear. The worshippers in the ancient synagogue in Tunis didn’t react harshly. They didn’t scold the father, who was already deeply embarrassed. Instead, they turned to the community’s respected rabbi, Rabbi Makhluf Idan.

As the spiritual leader of the community, it was Rabbi Makhluf’s responsibility to ensure this wouldn’t happen again. He quietly summoned the boy’s father for a private conversation. Though he was careful not to embarrass him in public, he didn’t hold back his strong words. In the end, he gave a surprising instruction: the father would need to pay a hefty fine, 1,000 francs to the synagogue committee.

The father, stunned, finally spoke. “Rabbi, why such a large amount? My son just said something inappropriate.”

Rabbi Makhluf used this moment to explain a deep teaching from the Talmud (Sukkah 56b): “The chatter of a child in the marketplace comes from either the father or the mother.” In other words, if your child picked this up at home, then as a parent, you carry responsibility. The father accepted the rabbi’s words with humility.

But Rabbi Makhluf added one more instruction. “Go to the treasurer and make sure you get a receipt.” And so, the father paid the fine and received the document, unsure at the time what role it might one day play.

Years passed. The boy grew up into a young man, and at the age of eighteen, his father called him over. He reminded him of the entire incident and handed him the old receipt. “Keep this with you always,” he said with emotion. “Let it remind you to watch your words. And if you ever meet someone who speaks inappropriately, show them this receipt and tell them this story.”

And so the boy carried the worn piece of paper with him into adulthood. He eventually became a truck driver, transporting goods as his livelihood. One day, while passing through a border checkpoint with a truck full of goods, he suddenly realized that the merchandise had not been properly cleared through customs. If discovered, he could face serious punishment.

The border guard insisted on seeing a receipt. The driver began searching, slowly flipping through his documents. Minutes passed. His heart pounded. He had nothing that could help him... except the old receipt. With nothing left to lose, he took it out and handed it to the guard.

The Arab officer was illiterate and couldn’t admit he didn’t know how to read. He stared at the receipt, pretending to examine it seriously. After a long moment, he noticed the number “1,000” and the word “francs,” nodded in satisfaction, and let the driver go.

This amazing story echoes a teaching from Midrash Tanchuma on the Torah portion dealing with tzaraat, a spiritual skin condition linked to improper speech. The Midrash ends with the verse from Tehillim (Psalms 34:14): “Guard your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking deceit.” And then it adds: “And should you say that you are losing? You are actually gaining.”

Sometimes we think we're paying a price for something that feels unfair. But in the end, it might turn out to be the very thing that saves us.