Nahum Ish Gamzu

Many years ago, when our Jewish people lived in our Holy Land under the rule of the Romans, there lived among them a great and saintly sage, named Nahum. Rabbi Nahum used to say that everything HaShem does is for the good. Therefore, even if something that happened to him did not appear so good, or even seemed so bad that others would call it a misfortune, he Nahum - would say"this, too, is for the good." He used to say it so often, that people soon began to call him Nabum Ish Gam Zu, "Nahum the Gam-zu Man."One day, the Jews were dismayed to learn that the Roman emperor was about to make a law that would make life very difficult for the Jews, for he was no friend of the Jewish people. The Jewish sages and leaders got together to decide what to do. They decided to send a beautiful gift to the king in Rome in order to make him friendlier to the Jews and not give them trouble. But who was to take the gift to the King?"No one is more suitable than Nahum Ish Garn Zu," all the Sages agreed, for he was a man for whom G-d made many miracles. They knew the journey to Rome was a long and dangerous one, and the king was a cruel man. You really needed a miracle to succeed in such a dangerous mission. So they all asked Nahum to be their shli'ach (messenger). Nahum humbly agreed, saying only, "Gam zu l'tovah."With the blessings of all the sages, Nahum set out for Rome, carrying with him a beautiful box filled with precious gems and pearls for the king and queen.Just before reaching Rome, Nahum stopped at an inn overnight. During the night, while Nahum was asleep, two thieves sneaked into his room, looked through his things, and found the box. They opened it and saw it was filled with costly gems and pearls. They emptied it of its precious contents, which they put in their pockets, and filled the box with sand. Then they left quietly.The following day, Nahum appeared at the royal palace and told the guards that he came all the way from the Land of Israel, carrying a gift for the king from the Jewish people.The Jewish sage was ushered into the presence of the king. Nahum told his majesty that he brought humble greetings and good wishes from the Jewish people, as well as a gift for the king and queen. The king sent over one of his servants to fetch the box. After admiring the beautiful box for a moment, the king opened it, and his face turned red with anger."Look what the Jews sent me for my birthday!" he said to his servants, as he lifted a handful of sand from the box and let it fall back through his fingers. "I'll teach them a lesson they will not forget, for making fun of the king!"Then he ordered his guard to seize the Jew who had brought him this "gift," and throw him into prison, where he would await his execution that would be arranged publicly, with much pomp and fanfare.Poor Nahum, what could he do? He was surprised as anyone else when he saw what the box contained. Of course, he realizedthat this was the work of thieves, but the king was in no mood to listen to an explanation. So Nahum Ish Gam-zu lifted his eyes heavenward and said, "Gam-zu l'tovah!"IILater that evening, as the king prepared to retire for the night, Elijah the Prophet appeared before him in the guise of one of the king's servants."Your Majesty,"' Elijah said, "you surely did not think the Jews would make fun of you and send you ordinary sand? Maybe it is the kind that their Father Abraham used to defeat his enemies in war? It has been told that Abraham threw handfuls of sand against his enemies that turned into swords; and straw that turned into deadly arrows. Would it not be advisable to test this sand the Jews sent you? Maybe it's that secret weapon...""There's no harm in doing just that." the king agreed.It so happened that the king was fighting a long and costly war against the Barbarians, and he was not able to defeat them. So he ordered his generals to try out the sand the Jewish sage had brought him. And wonder of wonders! The Barbarians fled in terror, and the war was over.Now the king ordered that Nahum be freed and brought before him."I had no idea what a wonderful gift you had brought me," the king said to him. "You may ask any royal favor in return."Nahum told the king what the purpose of his mission was: to plead with the king to withdraw the decree that would hurt the Jews very much, and would be of no benefit to the king.The king readily granted the request. In addition he ordered his royal treasurer to fill the box with gold and diamonds and rubies from the king's treasure chamber and give it to the Jewish sage to take back with him. Nahum was sent off on his way with much honor, fit for the greatest ambassador.IIIOn his way home, Nahum Ish Gam-zu stopped at the same inn where thieves had stolen the contents of the box and filled it with sand.The innkeeper had heard of the honor and wealth the king had bestowed upon the Jewish sage."What did you bring the king in the box that made him so happy?" the innkeeper asked."Only what I carried from here," Nahum replied, truthfully.The innkeeper talked to his son, and the two of them - they were none other than the thieves that stole the contents of the box decided that they would do even better than the Jewish sage. They broke down the best wall of the inn and collected a good deal of broken pieces of rock, which they pounded into a fine sand. This they packed into large boxes which they loaded on donkeys. Tired after all this work, but happy at the thought of how much wealth they will bring back, they made their way to the king's palace.When they appeared before the king, they told him: "This is the same kind of sand that the Jewish sage had brought to the king that made the king happy. We've brought a lot more to make the king even happier!""Indeed?" the king remarked wondering. "Well, we'll soon find out."He ordered samples of the sand to be tested for the miraculous power it was supposed to have. But no miracles happened this time. So the king ordered that the two thieves be hanged and buried and covered with their own sand.When Nahum Ish Gam-zu heard what happened to the thieves, he shrugged his shoulders and said - you guessed it: "Gam zu l'tovah!"