There was once a boy who had a learning disability. He wasn't even able to read and write. When he was a teenager, he decided to go out and get a job. He was rejectedfrom every job b/c he was illiterate. Finally he was accepted to be the shammas in a local shul. He does his job - he cleans, returns the sefarim to the shelves, makes sure that the urn is filled with hot water etc. etc. He makes sure that everything runs smoothly. The salary is low but what can he do? Better than nothing. One day, the Gabbai asked him to sign certain checks on behalf of the shul. He said that he can't b/c he doesn't know how to write.
"You don't know how to write?? Sorry, you can't keep this job. We need a shammas who can write".
He is super disappointed but what can he do?? So he goes out and starts to buy and sell. He is very successful in business, opens up a chain of stores and becomes very rich.
At a certain point the shul he used to work for needed a lot of money. So he donated the money - in cash. They asked him if it is OK if he instead writes a check. He said he can't b/c he is not capable of reading or writing.
"You can't read or write and you became so wealthy!!! Imagine how much more wealthy you would be if you knew how to read and write!!!"
"Actually", he replied, "if I knew how to read and write I would still be a poor shammas in this shul."
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Mussar Haskel: We THINK that we know what is best for us. We are OFTEN wrong.
