Nochum Ish Gamzu zt"l
הרב נחום איש גמזו זצ"ל
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Nochum Ish Gamzu zt"l
Nachum Ish Gamzu was a Tanna who lived during the second century. He was the teacher of Rebbe Akiva.
It is related that in later years Nahum's hands and feet became paralyzed, and he was afflicted with other bodily ailments. He bore his troubles patiently, however, and even rejoiced over them. In answer to a question of his pupils as to why, since he was such a perfectly just man, he had to endure so many ills, he declared that he had brought them on himself because once when he was on the way to his father-in-law's and was carrying many things to eat and drink, he met a poor man who asked him for food. As he was about to open the bundle the man died before his eyes. In deepest grief, and reproaching himself with having perhaps caused by his delay the man's death, he cursed himself and wished himself all the troubles to which his pupils referred. Various other stories are told of miracles that happened to him.
One tradition places the burial site of Rabbi Nachum Ish Gamzu in Safed, Israel, and his tomb may be found in Gamzu Street, named for him, inside a modern protective structure. Another tradition places his burial site on the main road as one approaches Farradiyya (Parod).
Nachum gained his name because of his use of this phrase as his response to anything that happened to him.
The Gemara (Tractate Taanit 21a) tells us a classic story of simple emuna, personified by the holy sage Nachum Ish Gamzu, whose name means “Nachum, the man who says 'this too [is for the best].'” Nachum's simple emuna invoked miracles; as a result, the leaders of ancient Israel sent him to Rome to try and appease the very irate Caesar.
Nachum was sent with a chest full of rare gemstones as a gift for Caesar, purchased with the last coins of a downtrodden and vanquished population, so that Caesar would refrain from issuing further harsh decrees against the Jews.
Nachum slept overnight in an inn on the way to Rome. While he slept, thieves emptied out the priceless contents of the chest and filled it full of soil.
In the morning, Nachum noticed that the chest seemed somewhat awry. He opened it and found that the rare gems were all missing. Instead, there was nothing but clods of earth.
Imagine being in Nachum's place: you've been entrusted with the very last resources of your beleaguered brothers and countrymen whom the Romans are throwing to the lions. You're the last chance to appease Caesar. Now, the jewels have been stolen. What do you do? Was it your carelessness in picking such an inn or failing to guard the jewels properly? Do you persecute yourself? Do you run away to India or contemplate suicide, Heaven forbid? Are you numbed with depression and incapacitated?
Not Nachum Ish Gamzu; he conducted himself with perfect emuna, believing that this too was for the very best. This was exactly what Hashem wanted. He took the chest full of soil and continued on his way to Rome.
Arriving at the royal palace, Nachum Ish Gamzu told the guards that he, the emissary of the Israelites, had brought a treasure chest for Caesar. He was ushered directly inside.
With Caesar overlooking, the royal attendants opened the chest. Seeing that it contained nothing but dirt, Caesar's eyes opened wide in fury and his jaw trembled in anger. Utterly insulted, he raged, “Those insolent Jews! I shall kill them all!”
Nachum neither flinched nor budged. This too was definitely for the best, whether or not he understood how…
Suddenly, Elijah the Prophet appeared, masquerading as a Roman minister. “Your excellency, maybe this soil is the magic soil that was used by their ancestor Abraham in subduing his enemies. Perhaps we ought to try it out on our hostile border to the north. This soil, when thrown in the direction of the enemy, is known to become a rain of lethal arrows in their midst.” Caesar nodded and agreed to try the “magic soil” against the difficult and stubborn enemy that Rome hadn't been able to subdue.
Sure enough, to Caesar's delight, the “magic soil” quickly overcame the enemy. Caesar filled Nachum's empty treasure chest with pearls and rare gems, and sent him amicably home.
On the way back to the port, Nachum frequented the same inn. The surprised thieves, amazed the he returned not only alive but with great honor, asked: “How did Caesar react when you gave him the treasure chest? Didn't he see what was in it?”
“Oh yes,” answered Nachum, “he loved the dirt…”
The thieves prepared an entire shipment of soil and carried it to Rome. They told Caesar, “The dirt that the Jew brought really came from us.” Caesar threw a clod skyward, but it didn't become a dozen lethal arrows like Nachum's did. On the spot, he ordered that the thieves be executed. A thief's end is always with a noose around his neck…
The story of Nachum Ish Gamzu – one of many such stories – testifies just how simple emuna is so beneficial. Caesar certainly had all the rare gemstones he desired; a few more wouldn't have had much influence on him. Hashem, in His compassion for his oppressed people of Israel, engineered a much greater salvation than even they had hoped for. But, this salvation was contingent on Nachum Ish Gamzu's passing a most difficult test of emuna, which he did.
If one delves into the Arizal's writings, as well as Rebbe Nachman's, he will find that simple emuna is not simple at all. The sophisticates with all their ideologies have nothing to fall back on in times of stress. Since simple emuna is malchut – monarchy, the light of the Divine Presence – it surpasses human intelligence. In fact, the epitome of knowledge is that we know nothing. We do know that everything Hashem does is for the very best – we learn that from Nachum Ish Gamzu.
Stories of Nochum Ish Gamzu zt"l
(The stories appear in Maseches Taanis 21A.)
A story is told that Nachum Ish Gamzu was blind in both eyes, missing both legs, missing both hands and his entire body was covered in boils. He was lying in a dilapidated house with the legs of his bed in buckets of water so that ants could not crawl onto him. Once his talmidim wanted to remove his bed from the house and then remove the furniture. Nachum Ish Gamzu said to them, “My children, first remove the furniture then remove my bed because you may be assured that as long as I am in this house it won’t collapse.” They listened to him and removed the furniture, then the bed, and the house collapsed after Nachum Ish Gamzu was outside it.
His talmidim asked of him, “Rebbe, since you are completely righteous, why did this happen to you (the boils, no arms etc...)?”
He replied, “My children, I brought it upon myself. I was once traveling on a road to the house of my father-in-law and I had three donkeyloads of food items: one of food, one of drink, and the last one of delicacies. A poor man approached me and said, ‘Rebbe, sustain me.’
“I replied, ‘Wait until I unload some food from the donkey.’
“ Before I had a chance to unload the donkey the man’s soul departed. I went and fell on my face and said, ‘Let the eyes that took no pity on your eyes become blind; let my hands which took no pity on your hands be cut off; let my legs which took no pity on your legs be cut off.’ And my mind did not find rest until I said, ‘Let my entire body be covered with boils!’”
Nachum Ish Gamzu said to his talmidim, “Woe to me had you not seen me like this.”
The Gemora then goes on to ask why they called him Nachum Ish Gamzu? It answers that whatever happened to him he would reply, “Gam zu letova – This, too, is for the best.”
Once the Jews wanted to send a gift to the court of Caesar. They decided to send Nachum Ish Gamzu to deliver it because he was accustomed to have miracles performed on his behalf. They sent him with a chest filled with precious stones and pearls. On his way he spent a night at a certain residence. During the night the residents arose and took all the stones and pearls from the chest and replaced them with sand. The next morning he saw the dirt and said, “This too is for the good,” and went on his way to Caesar. He went to the palace and untied the chest. After the emperor saw the dirt he wanted to kill the Jews, as he thought they were mocking him. Nachum Ish Gamzu thought, “This too is for the best.”
Then Eliyohu HaNovi appeared as a Roman official. Eliyohu said to Caesar, “Perhaps this sand is from the sand of Avrohom Avinu (which was used in the battle of the four kings).” When Avrohom threw the sand at an enemy it turned into swords and when he threw straw it turned into arrows.
There was one city the Romans could not conquer. They tested some of this dirt against that city and they conquered it. After this they went to the emperor’s treasure vault and filled the chest of Nachum Ish Gamzu with precious stones and pearls in gratitude for his gift and off he went.
When they returned and spent a night at the same residence as before (where he had been robbed) the residents asked, “What did you bring to Caesar that he gave you such honor?”
Nachum replied, “Whatever I took from here (the residence).”
The residents immediately demolished their houses and brought the rubble to the palace. They said to Caesar, “The dirt that Nachum brought was from our residence.” They tested it in battle and, finding it contained no special powers, they executed the residents for attempting to defraud them.