1. As R‘ Avrahom Dovid Sauer stood at the entrance of Baltimore’s Kosher Bite Restaurant, he was overcome with a feeling of relief and joy. Before him stood Rabbi Ervin Preis. Rabbi of Suburban Orthodox Congregation, appearing healthy and in good spirits. Rabbi Preis had been in failing health with a terminal illness, so R’ Avrahom Dovid couldn’t believe Rabbi Preis was actually out and about as if everything were perfectly fine. Although R‘ Avrahom Dovid was neither a congregant in Rabbi Preis’ shul nor a personal acquaintance, he, along with the entire Baltimore community, was davening for Rabbi Preis’ recovery. Hesitantly. R‘ Avrahom Dovid approached Rabbi Preis to wish him Shalom Aleichem. Rabbi Preis shook his hand warmly, and R’ Avrahom Dovid asked Rabbi Preis how he was feeling. With his characteristically congenial style, Rabbi Preis answered. “Baruch Hashem, l am doing much better.” Apologeti- cally, he added, “Please forgive me: you look familiar, but l can- not remember your name.” R’ Avrahom Dovid told Rabbi Preis his name and, without missing a beat, Rabbi Preis continued, “Of course, l should have recognized you! You are Avrahom Dovid, the son of Channah Machlah. How is the rest of your family: your father, Moshe the son of Adele, your mother, Channah Machlah the daughter of Sorah Miriam, and your five siblings?” With incredible accuracy, Rabbi Preis mentioned each of R‘ Avrahom Dovid‘s siblings by name. “How do you know the Hebrew names of all the members of my family? You even know all of my grandparents’ names!” exclaimed R‘ Avrahom Dovid in amazement. “Yes, l actually do know your entire family by name, but probably not by face. There’s an easy explanation for this. About thirteen years ago, l called your father, the owner of Security Unlimited, to install an alarm system in our home. Your father spent many hours installing the system. When he was ready to leave late at night, he handed me the bill, which was clearly far lower than l knew it should have been. When l questioned him, your father’s response was that he was giving me a discount because l am a Rabbi. l told him l felt uncomfort- able receiving this discount. Your father replied, ‘Well, then, l’ll make a deal with you. In return for this discount, I ask that you have my family in mind in your tefillos. Please ask Hashem to watch over us.’ “l accepted your father’s condition,” continued Rabbi Preis. “Every day for the past thirteen years, l have remembered each member of your family in my prayers. l am just keeping my end of the bargain.” Unfortunately, only a few months later, Rabbi Preis was niftar. This conversation remains etched clearly in R’ Avrahom Dovid’s mind. When doing business himself, R’ Avrahom Dovid remembers the lesson Rabbi Preis taught him about keeping one’s end of a deal. Without a doubt, Rabbi Preis is still appealing to the Kisei Hakauod for the welfare of the Sauer family and, indeed, the entire Jewish nation. After all. a deal is a deal (For Goodness’ Sake) (rav daven, pay what owe, honesty)
  1. In Tfas there was a tzaddik, a kabbalist, Rabbi Avraham Galanti, who once came to the Arizal with a request that he reprimand him and help him correct his misdeeds. The Ari refused, saying that he was hardly one who could give mussar to so great a tzaddik, but Rabbi Avraham persisted in his demands. The Ari then studied his face and said, “I see that you have a slight defect and that you are in wrongful possession of others’ property. ” Rabbi Avraham was shocked, and promptly went home to don sack cloth and accept a fast, with intense soul- searching as to where he might have been dishonest, but to no avail. Rabbi Avraham operated a textile factory. He called together all his workers and asked, “Am I in arrears to any of you? Have I inadvertently withheld wages from anyone?” The workers responded, “Rabbi, whatever you give us is enough. The Divine blessing is in your money, and whatever we receive always goes far enough to cover our needs. ” ‘ Rabbi Avraham said, “Then that is the problem. I may have shortchanged you on your wages, but you have never complained. That is why the Ari found me sinful. Henceforth you must be specific and make certain you receive every cent that is due to you. “But I must make restitution for the past, ” he said. Rabbi Avraham then placed money on the table and said, “Let anyone come and take as much as they feel is coming to him. Then I wish you to say, ‘Whatever Avraham Galanti still owes me, I forgive him with all my heart!’” Except for one woman who took a few coins, no one touched the money on the table, and all recited the forgiveness formula as requested. Rabbi Avraham later returned to the Ari who said, “The stain has now been cleansed. It was the small amount of money that was due to that woman that had left its mark on your neshamah.”    (Not Just Stories By Rabbi Dr. Avraham Twersky) (pay on time)
  1. A bachur in Bais Shraga in Monsey once happened to see Reb Yaakov on his way to the mailbox. He ran out of the yeshiva and asked Reb Yaakov whether he could mail the letter for him. Reb Yaakov thanked him for his offer but told him that since he was sending payment for a utility bill, mailing the letter was a part of the mitzva of paying one‘s debts – priyas ba’al chav — and it was therefore preferable that he do the mitzvah himself rather than through an agent. He thus managed in one comment to reject help he considered unnecessary and to teach a lesson about the importance of paying one’s debts and how a mitzvah should be performed. (Reb Yaakov) (pay debts)
  1. The Brisker Rav was extremely meticulous about everything pertaining to kashrus. But honesty in business dealings was no less important to him. The religious settlement of Komemiyus in southern Israel ran a bakery under the supervision of Rav Binyomin Mendelson, the founding Rav. The bakery provided the entire area with strictly kosher bread, and eventually grew to the point where it was supplying bread to 5,000 families. But every rose has its thorn: as the volume of sales, grew, so did the bakery’s debts. The owners of the bakery turned to me and asked me to help them secure loans from various gemachim. I agreed, and for a. period of time I obtained loans for them. When the date of payment arrived, I secured a loan from a different source to cover the first one, and so on. After a while, I gave the matter some thought and realized that? there was no way for the bakery to return to profitability in this fashion. The bakery would continue to lose money, and its owners would sink deeper and deeper in debt. Consequently, I told the owners that as much as I wanted to help them out, I did not feel it was possible to continue “rolling” the loans in such a manner.     But the owners of the bakery didn’t give up. Rav Binyomin Mendelson approached me personally and asked me to reconsider  He explained that the matter was not merely financial, but spiritual as well, as this was the only bakery in the entire area with no problems of insect infestation, tevel or shemittah observance. If the bakery were to close, God forbid, the results would be disastrous. It had to continue operating despite the financial difficulties. “I’m afraid to continue borrowing money,” I replied, “because in my opinion there is no chance that the bakery will ever be able to pay it back. But I don’t want to make this decision on my own.” I suggested that we go together to the Brisker Rav to ask his opinion about what we should do. Rav Mendelson agreed, and off we went to present the dilemma to the Brisker Rav.  Rav Mendelson spoke enthusiastically and at length  the crucial nature of the bakery, and emphasized the great     responsibility that lay in supplying kosher bread to thousands families even if doing so entailed a monetary loss; I then  presented my position, albeit briefly and succinctly. The Brisker Rav’s answer represents the cornerstone of  worldview based on Torah. “Kosher bread is very important. But that’s only true if the bread is completely kosher from every angle. Kosher bread that is manufactured using ‘treif’ money is not kosher. “When one takes a loan knowing that under the current circumstances, there is no way to repay it, the money received is ‘treif money.’ Even if the goal is to perform a mitzvah, that’s not the proper way to do it.”    (pay debts) (In Their Shadow Volume 1)
  1. Rav Chaim Kanievsky ran a lending gemach in his home for many years. Not long ago, when he started feeling his age, Ra Chaim asked his son to take over. As Rav Chaim was handing over the documents and information, Rav Chaim shared an important piece of information with his son. “The Arizal tells us,” he said, “that if someone lends another person money and the money is not paid back, then both of them — the borrower and the lender — are forced to return to this world so that the borrower can repay his loan. The reason the lender has to return,” explained Rav Chaim, “is because he is also culpable for not being mochel the debt.” ‘ His son waited to see where Rav Chaim was going with this. “Look here,” Rav Chaim said, showing his son a list of names. “These names are the people who borrowed money from my gemach and never repaid the loan. They haven’t paid until now, and chances are that it may never happen‘ I would like to be mochel their debts, but this money belongs to charity and I’m not able to do so. Please take this money,” and here Rav Chaim handed his son a stack of his own personal cash, “and pay their debts to the gemach, so that neither I, nor they, have to return to this world to deal with the matter in the future.” (Inside Their Homes) (pay debts)
  1. R Yochanan Ben Masya once told his son to hire workers. His son hired workers and distributed  food to them. When he returned to his father, R’ Yochanan said, “My son, even if  you prepared for them a meal like the meals  of King Shlomo, you did not fulfill your  obligation to them, for they are the sons of  Avraham, Yizchak, and Yaakov. Therefore, before they begin working, go and tell them that they are hired if they  agree to accept meals of bread and lentils”  (Mishna Bava Metzia 7:1)