Parshat Ki Teitzei: A Diamond Or A Bean…

“And she shall leave his house and go and become another man’s wife” (Devarim 24:2).

Rav Aryeh Leibush, known as the Aryeh d’Bei Ila’i, was one of the great Torah scholars of his generation. A disciple of Rav Yitzchak Charif and of the author of Ketzot HaChoshen, Rav Aryeh Leibush later served as the Rav of Vishnitz and founded the Vishnitz Hasidic dynasty.

Before becoming the son-in-law of the Yismach Moshe, Rav Aryeh Leibush had been married once before. That first marriage was unsuccessful. His exceptional standards of holiness and piety were not appreciated by his wife, and the marriage ended in divorce.

Some time later, a shidduch was proposed between Rav Aryeh Leibush and the daughter of the Yismach Moshe. By then, Rav Aryeh Leibush was already renowned as an outstanding Torah scholar. Samples of his Torah insights were brought to the Yismach Moshe so that the Rav could assess the young man’s scholarship and character.

When the Yismach Moshe studied them, the Rav’s eyes lit up. The greatness of the young scholar was immediately apparent, and the Yismach Moshe gave consent to the match.

The Rebbetzin, however, had reservations. Why, the Rebbetzin wondered, should their daughter marry a man for whom she would be a second wife?

The Yismach Moshe replied, “Let me explain with a mashal.”

There was once an ignorant villager working in his field. As he dug, his hoe suddenly struck a hard box buried beneath the ground. He opened it and found what appeared to be a collection of beans.

In truth, they were not beans at all. They were precious diamonds.

But the villager had never seen a diamond and knew nothing about precious stones. He examined the “beans,” bit down on them, and found them extremely hard. Assuming they were simply uncooked beans, he decided that they needed to be boiled before they could be eaten.

The villager placed a pot of water on the fire and threw the “beans” inside. They boiled for a long time, but remained as hard as before.

Confused, the villager told a neighbor about the strange beans that refused to soften. The neighbor came to inspect them and immediately recognized what the villager had found: precious diamonds.

The neighbor said, “I have soft, delicious beans at home. I’ll give them to you, and I’ll take these hard ‘beans’ instead.”

The villager readily agreed, thinking to himself, “What a fool! Imagine trading soft, tasty beans for these hard ones that cannot even be eaten.”

And so they made the exchange. The villager went home delighted with his soft beans, while the neighbor walked away with a fortune in diamonds.

The Yismach Moshe then turned to the Rebbetzin and explained:

“The first father-in-law thought his daughter had been given a hard bean that was not fit to be eaten, so he exchanged it for something softer. But I know that this is no bean at all. It is a precious diamond!”

When the Rebbetzin heard the words of the Yismach Moshe, the Rebbetzin agreed to the match, and the marriage was arranged.

The mashal carries a timeless lesson. Greatness is not always recognized by those who first encounter it. What one person dismisses as difficult or unappealing may, in truth, be something of extraordinary value.

Torah scholars are diamonds awaiting discovery and appreciation. Their worth is not determined by whether everyone immediately recognizes it. Sometimes it takes a discerning eye to see what is truly precious.

Based on a teaching presented by Rav Menashe Yisrael Reisman, shlit”a, in Na’eh Doresh.

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Rabbi Leeor Dahan, a graduate of Yeshiva Chofetz Chaim/RSA, is a noted scholar and teacher, well-versed in halachah. He currently leads Kehilat Avodat Hashem in Hillcrest, Queens, inspiring his congregation to delve into Torah study and embrace its eternal teachings.