Page 111 - HANUKIYA

Second Temple
era coins

The importance and sanctity of the coins to the great Now in order to explain my objections to the search, I
men of the age can be understood from the fact the in- must show it.
troduction of the History of Rabbi Yitzhak Abarbanel,
which begins with his commentary on the Torah. I will note, on one of my
visits at the righteous
When the rabbis returning from a conference in Pest in Rabbi David Abuchatzeira
5626 (1866), they stopped at an inn for a light meal in of Nahariya, I showed him
order to give thanks for the conference’s success. The the rare coin. I instantly
owner of Katav Sofer, who participated and wanted the saw his great emotion as
diners to be happy, took out a half shekel coin from the he held and caressed and
Second Temple era, which he had inherited from his fa- kissed the coin with great
ther, the Hatam Sofer. The coin had been passed around passion and said, blessed
from hand to hand until it suddenly disappeared. are you to hold such a coin
that the priests and Levites
In order to placate Katav Sofer, one of the rabbis pro- and the Sanhedrin held.
posed that the diners empty their pockets, because
maybe one of them had accidently taken it. One rabbi 111
vehemently refused arguing that the search infringed
the rabbis’ dignity and it would be a miracle.

In the midst of this, the servant girl entered and said she
had found the coin among the cutlery to be washed.

Only then, the rabbi emptied his pockets and also took
out the half shekel coin that Rabbi Mordechai Bennet,
Doron gave him a present for the sermon on his mar-
riage explaining earlier when I saw the joy of my friend
the (‫ )כ"ס‬over the rare coin in his hand I did not want to
harm his joy because here I also have a coin of this kind.