Shortchanging a Blessing

Among his neighbours, Ben was known simply as “Cabbie Ben.”

Each morning, on his way to work, he passed the same bus stop. Whenever it was cold or raining, he would slow down, lower the window and call out:

“Anyone heading towards the town centre?”

Sometimes one person climbed in. Sometimes three squeezed into the back.

Ben never minded.

During the journey, people would talk. One complained about work. Another worried about a hospital appointment. Someone else simply needed to be heard.

Ben listened, offered a few encouraging words and usually found a way to make them laugh before dropping them off.

“You should start charging,” his wife would tell him.

“I do,” Ben replied. “One smile per passenger.”

Then came the day Ben had been working towards for years.

He was promoted to a senior position in the company. With it came a larger salary, a new office and something he had never expected—a brand-new Mercedes-Benz.

For the first few days, Ben could hardly stop admiring it.

The following Monday, it was pouring.

As Ben approached the bus stop, he saw three familiar faces huddled beneath the shelter. One of them stepped forward, expecting him to slow down.

Ben pictured the wet coats against the leather seats, dirty shoes on the carpet and umbrellas dripping onto the floor.

He looked straight ahead.

And drove on.

The next time it rained, he did the same.

Before long, no one stepped forward when they saw him coming.

Several weeks later, Ben was getting into the Mercedes when a neighbour passed his driveway.

“Morning, Cabbie Ben,” the man called.

The neighbour glanced at the Mercedes.

“What happened to your old car? We miss it.”

In the midst of the Tochachah, the warnings of Parashat Ki Tavo, the Torah gives a reason for what is to come:

תַּחַת אֲשֶׁר לֹא־עָבַדְתָּ אֶת־ה׳ אֱלֹקֶיךָ בְּשִׂמְחָה וּבְטוּב לֵבָב מֵרֹב כֹּל
Because you did not serve Hashem your G-d with joy and gladness of heart, from an abundance of everything.
(Devarim 28:47)

The good was not missing.