So As Not to Swear

Once the Chavas Das, zt”l, was travelling incognito with a group of merchants. There was no way to tell that the man dressed as a poor wayfarer was one of the famous rabbinic personages of his time. As the coach neared the outskirts of a city one of the merchants discovered that he had been robbed. Everyone began talking at once, except the Chavas Das. One of the merchants accused him of the crime. “I bet the silent pauper stole it; he has sharp eyes like a fraud and is the only one who is silent.” Although the Chavas Das denied taking anything, the merchants brought him to the local Rabbi. Since he resembled a poor man, the Rabbi figured it likely that he took the money. “The halacha is that you must either produce the money or swear you didn't take it!” The Chavas Das considered his predicament. “I will pay half the money to avoid swearing,” he declared. The merchant figured that he must be the thief; otherwise why not swear? “Either pay the entire sum or swear!” The Chavas Das thought another moment and offered three quarters of the sum. When that was rejected, he offered to pay almost the entire amount, which the merchant also dismissed. “I can't pay more so I will have to swear,” the Chavas Das said. “But first I need time to prepare myself.” He went into the corner and began to cry, obviously doing intense teshuvah. After a few minutes of this, one of the merchants fainted. When he woke up he admitted that he had taken the money and rushed to return it. When the merchants left, the Rav demanded that the Chavas Das reveal who he was, which he eventually did, brushing aside the Rav's natural apologies. “Why apologize? You ruled according to halacha.” “Why did you first offer half, then more and finally almost the entire amount, before you agreed to swear?” the rabbi asked. “First I offered all my money; then my material goods. My final offer included all of my property. Since I can't raise more and do not have the strength to take on debts I agreed to swear.”