Community Magazine September 2003

38 COMMUNITY MAGAZINE s xc Whenever he prayed in a shul other than his own, he would put a few dollars in a kuppah. “A shul costs money to upkeep.” He would explain “There’s the mortgage, the utility bills, etc. If I’m using a shul, even just to attend a minyan once in awhile, I should participate in the shul’s upkeep. When I attend all year, I pay membership, but if it’s not my regu- lar shul I must contribute each time I use the shul’s facilities.” He also always walked around with change in his pocket, ready to give a collector. He reasoned “If someone poor asks for money, why should I waste his time?” Every Pesah Hacham Ben Sion’s father would pay for his son’s Matzot. When he passed away, Hacham Ben Sion continued the tradition, using the money from his father’s inheritance to pay for the Matzot. When asked why he chose to do this, Hacham Ben Sion said, “The money used to buy Matzot must be free from theft. I work for the Yeshiva. There is a law that if a teacher doesn’t give it his all, then he’s stealing from the school. Who knows if I’m putting all my efforts into teaching? Who knows if that money is clean money? My father gave me money as a present, I know that money is kosher.” Hacham Ben Sion was extreme- ly circumspect not to be guilty of even an inkling of “stealing” from the Yeshiva. R A B B I D A V I D S U T T O N Giants of The Glory Days LEADING BY EXAMPLE Hacham Ben-Sion was quick to accept stringencies upon himself, but never imposed them on others. Once, a man found a high-denomination bill on the floor in the Bet Midrash, and asked Hacham Ben-Sion if he was allowed to keep it. He told him, “According to Halacha, you are allowed. There is no sign as to whose it might be.” But then he took an equivalent bill out of his pocket and handed it to the man, “You found the money, it’s yours. But still, announce that it was found and give this to whoever claims it.” No sooner the man announced that he had found the money, the fellow who had lost it ran over to him in tears. He was a poor man, and had borrowed the money. Hacham Ben-Sion said, “You see the benefits of being Mahmir (stringent). But I couldn’t impose this stringency on someone else, since according to Halacha, he was allowed to keep the money.” Instead, he took the money out of his own pocket so that the man that lost the money and the man that found it both receive their due. Hacham Ben-Sion Abba Shaul k"mz Part II of II DEDICATED IN MEMORY OF MY GRANDFATHER DAVID A. SUTTON A”H BY DAVID SUTTON