בבא מציעא מא

When רבי שלמה קלוגר once went to see the רב of a large city, he saw at the door to his home, two בעלי דין who had just left the רב and were loudly arguing with one another. רבי שלמה asked what the dispute was about and it quickly became apparent to him that they were arguing about an item of clothing that had been stolen and that the רב ruled that the defendant is liable to the plaintiff for the full value of the clothing. רבי שלמה knew, however, that לפי הדין, the defendant was liable only for half. He took a piece of paper, wrote down a few words, and handed it to the defendant to pass on to the רב. When the רב opened the note, he saw that it contained five words: שלמה, שלמה, שלמה, שלמה and שלמה. While the רב was trying to decipher its meaning, רבי שלמה entered and explained the riddle. ש למה – why? As in שלמה אהיה כעוטיה; the next שלמה refers to a בגד; the third relates to the word שלם – whole; the fourth is שלמה, as in לשלם; and the last one is the signature of the author.

06/10/2021