THE CONTRACT THAT WAS WORTH DIRT

Reuven Gamliel is an earthworks contractor. An “earthworks contractor,” is someone who oversees the planning and carrying out of construction projects involving land preparation.  This includes, for example, moving large amounts of dirt or rocks, paving roads, laying train tracks, leveling ground etc. Bulldozers and diggers, tractors and dump trucks, are used for this work.

Reuven Gamliel oversees workers and supervises jobs all over the country.

One day, he noticed an interesting ad. The ad said there is an “auction” accepting bids for an earthworks job and that a contractor was needed for ground work on a yishuv in the south of the country. Underground channels had to be dug and then covered over.

Reuven read the ad thoroughly, including the fine print and found the job appealing. “I need to apply,” he thought. “This is a big and profitable job. I’ve never had such an opportunity. It’s the deal of a lifetime!”

Reuven contacted the office and applied for the job. They sent him a contract with the details of the job and the terms of payment.

Reuven examined the contract again and again and it all looked excellent. He had almost signed it when … he suddenly remembered …

“I’m not signing on any deal without writing to the Rebbe. I’ve done that in the past and I will do so now, even though it all looks fine.”

Reuven wrote a letter to the Rebbe and put it between the pages of a volume of Igros Kodesh. As always, he didn’t decide on his own but asked a Rav to look at the Rebbe’s letter and tell him what it said. Reuven asked Rabbi Gluckowsky, the Rav of the Chabad community in Rechovot, for help.

Rabbi Gluckowsky read the letter again and again. From the doubtful look on his face, it didn’t seem there was a bracha for the job.

“What does the Rebbe say?” asked Reuven, his heart pounding.

“I don’t see a bracha from the Rebbe for this job, but what I do see is that you need to examine the contract very carefully.”

Reuven was very disappointed. Did this mean he would have to forgo this wonderful opportunity?

He tried strengthening his trust in what the Rebbe said. “The Rebbe, no doubt, sees things we don’t see.”

Reuven returned home. On the one hand, he was very interested in the big and promising job. But from what the Rebbe wrote, it seemed that something was amiss with it.

“I must examine the contract again,” he finally decided. “If I see that all is well, I will sign it.”

Feeling more calm, he sat down and opened the contract. He began reading it, word by word, carefully examining each paragraph, every line, every letter, including short lines and abbreviations. He did not miss a word.

“It’s all perfectly in order,” he said to himself. “There is nothing problematic about it.”

Feeling confident, he called the offices of the yishuv.

“I am interested in the job,” he told them. “When can I come and sign on the deal?”

The manager of the project was very happy and set a date for the meeting when they would both sign the contract, and then Reuven could start working on the job.

On that day, Reuven traveled to the yishuv. He entered the building and sat in the manager’s office. After shaking hands and exchanging a few words, they got down to business, signing the contract.

Reuven knew the contract by heart; he had gone over it so many times at home. Now, all he had to do was sign his name.

He could picture the huge profits he would make from the deal of his life and he was excited.

Suddenly, at the very last moment, right before signing the contract, the Rebbe’s instruction to check the contract well, came back to him.

“One minute,” he said to himself. “Before I rush to sign, I am going to look this contract over again, even though I examined it at home.”

He put his pen down on the desk while the manager wondered why he was delaying.

“I want to read what I’m signing,” Reuven explained and began reading, word by word.

Suddenly … he discovered the fraud

On the contract he was about to sign, a few words had been added: The one who undertakes this job, must also lay earth covering a long list of other areas around the work site.

“What?!” shouted Reuven. “This is not the agreement you sent to me! You added this!”

Reuven angrily tossed the contract on the desk and stormed out of the office, before the astonished manager.

Reuven got into his car and tried to catch his breath.

“The Rebbe saved me!” If I had undertaken this job and committed to covering all of the grounds written there, I would have had such big losses that I would have gone bankrupt!”

He didn’t stop thanking Hashem for sending the Rebbe, the prophet of the generation, to save him from this disaster of a job.

“The Rebbe sees beyond what human beings can see,” he concluded. “How happy we ought to be for meriting to be connected to the Rebbe Melech Ha’Moshiach!”■