A Thousand Blatt and a Different Definition of Need
A donor wanted to distribute $75,000 to talmidei chachamim. But when the money was offered to those tested on 1,000 blatt, almost every one of them said the same thing: “I don’t need it.”
A Yid once sent $75,000 to be distributed to talmidei chachamim — $5,000 apiece.
The person entrusted with the money wanted to know exactly what kind of talmidei chachamim the donor had in mind.
“What caliber are we talking about?” he asked.
The answer came back: “Anyone who has been tested on at least 1,000 blatt ba’al peh in the V’shinantam program.”
“That should not be hard,” the distributor said. “There are plenty of such people. I’ll get to work.”
He began calling through the list.
One talmid chacham after another answered the same way.
“Thank you very much, but I don’t need it.”
Another: “Boruch Hashem, I’m okay.”
Another: “Give it to someone who needs it more.”
Again and again, the answer was no.
Finally, after going through the list, he called the donor back.
“I found something very interesting,” he said. “I went through the entire list of those who were tested on 1,000 blatt. Almost every single one told me he does not need the money. There was only one who said that he had borrowed money, and perhaps he could use the $5,000 to pay back what he owed.”
Then he added, “If you want to find people who need the money, you may have to lower the bar. Among the sarei ha’elef, those who know a thousand blatt, you will have a hard time finding someone who says he needs it. Maybe among those who know 500 blatt you will find more. Among those who know 200, perhaps more. Among those who know 100, even more. And among those who know zero — there you will certainly find people who need.”