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Usually, Mr. Pinchas had a table full of guests but this Shabbat he only had one; a poor man that he had invited from the Bait Knesset (Synagogue).
The guest was awed by the plush richness around him; the thick Persian rugs, gold inlayed dishes and beautifully decorated walls. But one thing perplexed him; in the middle of the table stood an old, empty, broken bottle that looked like it once contained olive oil about twenty years ago and when the servant cleared the table between each course he did not remove or even move it.
When Mr. Pinchas noticed how his guest was staring at the bottle he said. “I see that you are wondering about my bottle. That bottle is there as a reminder to me where I was and the miracle that brought me here today. Do you want to hear a wonderful story?” When the guest nodded ‘yes’ he began:

“My father was a respected businessman here in Baghdad, but he was always busy and he left me in the hands of my grandfather.
“Every morning my grandfather would wake me, make sure I washed my hands, said the morning blessings and didn’t forget my lunch. Then, just before I left the house for school, he would give me a kiss on my forehead, raise his hands to the heavens and say:
“VAANI ANA ANI BAW” (lit. And I, where will I go?! (Gen. 37:30)
“Later I learned in school that this is what Reuven cried out when he returned to save his brother Yosef and discovered that he was not in the pit (where he convinced his brothers to throw him rather than to kill him) “where will I go when my father (Yaakov) asks me where Yosef is?”
“But I had no idea what it had to do with me.
“Then, when I was about twelve years old, tragedy struck; my beloved grandfather passed away.
“There was no one to wake and take care of me in the morning so I started to go with my father to work. My father got me a private teacher and tried to make sure that I prayed and learned a little but the business he did fascinated me and caught my attention, so I didn’t do much learning.
“Then, two years later, tragedy struck again; my father died suddenly and now, besides the fact that I was alone, there was another problem; what to do with the business?
“The board of directors wanted to sell it and put the money aside for me till I was older, but I protested. I said I wanted to try my luck managing it for a while. Then, after a few months, if they saw I wasn’t succeeding then they could sell it. I really felt I had absorbed enough in the time I was there to give it a try.
“Well, I took to it like a fish to water. It wasn’t long before I was making big business deals with the best. But because almost everyone I did business with were Arabs I began to feel out of place with a Yarmulke, Tzizis, eating kosher food and keeping Shabbos.
“So little by little I became less and less observant and the more Judaism I dropped, the more successful I became. Several years passed, I had ceased doing anything Jewish but I had risen higher and higher, maybe I was in my late twenties and my name was being mentioned in high places.
“Then, one day I was walking home, really satisfied with myself after landing a really big deal, and I noticed a young Jewish boy, maybe thirteen years old, sitting on the sidewalk crying.
“You know how it is when you feel happy, you can’t stand to see someone miserable, right? So I stopped, bent over and asked him what was wrong. ‘Oh thank you sir,’ he said, ‘but this is something for Jews, I don’t think you would understand’.
“When he said those words, I felt like someone stabbed me in the heart. ‘You should know that I am Jewish’ I said to him, ‘Maybe I don’t look like it but I even learned Talmud in Torah School just like you’.

‘Oh, I’m sorry’ he answered’ I didn’t mean to make trouble, I just feel so bad. You see at home we don’t have any money.’ He looked up at me and wiped his eyes with his shirtsleeve, ‘My father died a while ago and my mother has to work and also feed us, me and my six brothers and sisters, so things are not so easy.
‘Well, this morning my mother announced that tonight is Chanuka but we have no money so she told us to look around the house maybe HaShem will make a Chanuka miracle for us and we’ll find a coin or something to buy oil for lighting the Menorah.
‘We looked and searched and were just about to give up when my little sister found a coin behind one of the drawers. We were all so happy!
‘So my mother gave it to me and told me to run to the store and buy the oil before it closes. I ran and just as he was closing, I got in and bought the oil.
‘So I was really happy walking home, holding the bottle and dreaming. I imagined how it’s going to be to light the lights, how everyone will be happy. How the candles would shine on everyone’s faces and make everything look so pure. Maybe we’ll even sing and dance like we did last year. Maybe HaShem will really send Moshiach this time, like my mother says, and then she will start to smile again. I was walking faster and faster, I was so excited. It’s Chanuka! It’s Chanuka!!
‘And then…. I tripped.
I guess I wasn’t looking where I was going. I fell in the street and the bottle flew from my hands! I watched as it arched in the air and came down on a stone and broke!!! It broke!! And all the oil spilled out …. and …. ANI ANA ANI BAW! Where will I go!!’

“The boy began crying again but when I heard those words, I suddenly remembered my grandfather and understood what he meant, he must have known that this would happen.
“That broken bottle is me! And the spilled oil is my Jewish soul; I’ve lost my Jewish soul!! Ani Ana Ani Baw!!! Where will I go to find it!!!
“As in a trance, I took out a wad of money from my pocket, gave it to the boy and told him to go back to the store knock on the window and just tell him Mister Pinchas sent you. Go! Buy what you want, have a happy Chanuka! Go! When the boy was gone, I lifted the broken bottle from the street and carried it home, still in shock. I sent the servants away for eight days and then, when I was alone, I just sat there, looking at that broken bottle and weeping.
“Then the thought struck me; ‘a Jew can’t lose his Jewish soul. Maybe I ignored it or put it to sleep, but I’m sure it’s still there’.
“I looked around till I found my grandfather’s Menorah in a cabinet. I dusted it off, put it on the table, found some oil and a wick and lit the first candle. The light!! I felt like I was alive again! There was hope!!!
“I decided that I would do something…. I would begin putting on Tefillin starting tomorrow morning!
“The next night I lit two candles and decided form now on to eat only kosher food. The following night, that I would begin learning Torah. The night after that I made the decision to keep Shabbot. Until when on the last night eight candles were burning, I felt that I had become a new man. A renewed man. The lights of Chanukah saved me.

“So that is the reason I keep the broken bottle on the table; to remind me where I was and how that miracle of the oil “saved my life”.
From this story we see many things. First that G-d arranges ‘accidental’ meetings to bring Jews back to their senses. Second, that Jews never can abandon Judaism. Third, that a little light dispels much darkness. Fourth, that we must never be satisfied with the light of yesterday but must increase. Five that we should advertise the miracles G-d does for us.

May the lights of Chanukah bring true peace and blessing to all mankind, and may HaShem send us the Moshiach NOW so we can relight the Menorah in the Holy Temple and rejoice together with all the Jews in the world in Jerusalem. and not much is lacking.

We are standing on the merits of thousands of years of Jewish hopes, prayers and efforts. Now it could be that just one more good deed, word or even thought will bring ……  

Moshiach NOW!!

Rabbi Tuvia Bolton
Yeshiva Ohr Tmimim
Kfar Chabad, Israel

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