YOSEF MOKER SHABBOS

Hear this story my dear Yidden,
In Gemara it is written,
And of course this tale has made great fame.
Once there was a Jewish man,
Who had a wife and seven children,
Yosef Moker Shabbos was his name.
Right by the sea, he lived in poverty.
His home, a tiny little shack,
The only shirt he wore was on his back.

All week long this man was harried,
Heavy loads he often carried.
Yosef worked but never spent his money.
Eating only bread and water,
He, his wife, his sons and daughters,
Saving every groshen every penny.
His children and wife were happily content with life.
His house empty it is true,
But everybody knew.

That Thursday before dawn,
His wife he would forewarn,
“Quickly Balabusta, my dear,
Shabbos is drawing near!
Here are all my earnings of this week.
Buy everything that you need.

FISH! THE BEST!
LARGE AND SUCCULENT AND FRESH,
MEAT and WINE you’ll buy,
No price is too high.
Fruits of many kinds,
So everyone, his favorite finds.
So his wife, quickly went
Returning home with packages, her money spent
She was up all night
Not even for a moment did her eyes shut tight
She cooked and she baked
A very tasty torte and a honey cake
And she baked and she cooked
How Erev Shabbosdik it looked

When Friday night arrived
Reb Yosef sat with orchim at his side
The hut was beautiful and bright
A real Gan Eden delight
And sitting on his throne like a king
Reb Yosef would sit and sing
In a voice sweet and fine
He repeated one more time
Aishes Chayil Mi Yimtzah
There’s nothing like the Shabbos Hamalka!

Further up and not too distant
Right across from Yosef’s dwelling
An imposing palace grimly stood
Surrounded by a giant garden
And a wall of steel and iron
Every door a different grain of wood
A sire lived in there
The biggest millionaire
A scoundrel, everybody knew
Who hated every Jew

He was surely over eighty
Hardly talked about his lady
Claiming she had left him long ago
His children, too, had long since vanished
And from then on they were banished
Wealth, the only friend that he did know
A miser was he, did not give charity
He lived quite alone – lonely as a stone

Time did pass, the sire took ill fast
And to analyze it all, a specialist was called
One who was acquainted with the stars
And could see a person’s future from afar
The astrologer thought a while
Announcing with a saddened smile
“the riches that belong to you
will be inherited by a Jew.
Who honors the Shabbos day,
To him it will be given all away”

The goy turned white
He was quite disturbed that very night
He called on the spot
A buyer who would buy his entire lot
With the money that he owned
He bought himself a special jewel – a diamond stone
In the inside of his hat
He sewed his diamond in and that was that!

And so the goy went up and down
Never stepping into town
Away from people he was always creeping
No matter where he stood or sat
He wore that diamond in his hat
And even in the night when he was sleeping
Once he wandered far
To an unfamiliar shore
A bridge before his eyes, caught him by surprise

As he walked upon the bridge
A wind began to blow a bit
And soon before he knew it, it was raining
Lightning crackled, thunder crashed
The wind blew off his diamond hat
And into the air, it suddenly went sailing
It landed in the sea, and most unfortunately
The sire in distress, jumped into the waters emptiness

Along came a fish, and with a great big swish
Swallowed up this most expensive hat
Swam away, full and fat
Fisherman stood ready, they were set
And it landed in their net

It was Friday afternoon
The fish was delivered soon
The sellers started searching all around
But a customer could not be found

Says Reb Yosef in great length
My wife has finished cooking, she has no more strength
Says his Rebbetzin, “Don’t say no-
There’s one more empty pot, I’ll need an hour or so”
As she opened up her eyes
Tears began to slowly trickle down from her eyes
“A DIAMOND! A DIAMOND!”
Reb Yosef hears his Rebetzin and soon appears
“A DIAMOND! A DIAMOND!”
Now they’re both excited – everybody hears

This story is quite a tale
But every Jew can understand its message well
When in Shabbos you invest
The returns you get with interest!