Story Section:
The Strange Beggar
His entire life was a secret
Nissan Mindel
Getzel Shlomo was his name. He was a pauper who went around begging from door to door.
If anyone had pity on him and gave him something, he would say, by way of thanks, "Shema Yisrael." On the other hand, if he received nothing, but an apologetic "some other time," or the like, he also said, "Shema Yisrael." These were the only two Hebrew words he was ever heard to utter. Naturally enough, people regarded him as a half-wit. They were too busy with their own affairs and troubles to worry about Getzel Shlomo, or his young son, Chaim Shmuel.
Chaim Shmuel grew up with little parental attention. When he was due to become bar mitzvah, a teacher in town took pity on him and taught him to read in the siddur, and to put on tefillin and say basic prayers.
When the poor, neglected boy became fourteen years old, he left town to seek his fortune elsewhere. He wandered through towns and villages, but he was no schnorrer: he would not beg for alms.
