Once there was a rich man who wanted to give Elijah his due and purchased an exquisite silver goblet in his honor. He and his wife enjoyed using it at the Seder for many years. One year, he lost all his money and had to sell off all his possessions. And although it was worth a lot of money he did not want to sell the silver cup.
Spring came, there was no money to buy matzah and wine for Pesach. Reluctantly he decided to sell the cup. He told his wife his plans. “What do we need the cup if we will not have a Seder?” His wife did not agree.
“We can’t even have the mitzvah of eating matzah, and you are not allowing me to sell the cup.” He was very angry. On the morning before Pesach, he told her: “this is our last chance, let’s sell the cup.”
“No,” she said without hesitation.
“Then I am leaving the house and going to shul. There is nothing for me to do here.” He left.
In a little while, there was a knock on the door. A rich looking man was standing in the entrance. “Is this the house of Reb Chaim the great scholar? I came from very far and would like to be with his family for the Seder.”
“I wish we could invite you,” said the wife, “but it looks like this year we won’t have a Seder; we have no money.”
“This is no problem,” the rich man said. “Here is money, run and buy food for the whole Pesach. I’ll return in time for the Seder.”
The husband walked home dejectedly and was greatly surprised when he opened the door and saw that the table was set in a way that he remembered from his affluent years.
“Dear husband, we have to wait for the rich man,” and she told him how it all had happened.
They waited and waited but the afikomen had to be eaten before midnight so they began sadly without the guest.
It was time to fill Elijah’s cup and the husband dozed off. The wife went to open the door for Elijah. A man entered; it was the rich man.
“Thank you for not selling my cup,” he said, and he blessed her before he left.
The husband woke. “What happened? I feel I missed something very great.”
When he was told what happened. He said: “You held on, therefore, you had the great merit, and you were the one who saw the prophet.”
My dearest friends: Hold on, hold on!
