Cheshvan 3

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Yankel was known for his extreme miserliness. When he came to shul one day and announced that his wife had given birth to a son, his face was less than glowing with happiness. When asked why, he admitted: "Well, a baby boy requires a bris, and a bris requires refreshments, and those cost money."

"You say `refreshments,' Yankel?" his friend, Boruch, said. "Why, Yankel, for a bris you must serve a whole feast! And I'll tell you something, Yankel. You will have to provide even more food than someone else, because it's a known fact that when the host does not fargin (i.e. he is stingy), the guests eat twice as much!"

Poor Yankel had no choice but to comply with custom. He reluctantly prepared a meal for the bris. During the meal, painfully watching everyone eat with much gusto, he ran to Boruch and said, "Help. Boruch, help! I'm farginning (not being stingy), but they're still eating twice as much anyway!"

We must be cautious not to let our emotions deceive us. If we have undesirable feelings, we should not make believe that they do not exist, but we should try to correct them. Self-deception can result only in absurd contradictions, such as Yankel's assertion that he really was being generous."

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