Taanit 21 – That, too, is for the best

Nachum ish Gam Zu was called this way because he was accustomed to saying, "That, too, (gam zu) is for the best." Once the Jews needed to send a gift of precious pearls to the Roman emperor. They chose Nachum ish Gam Zu because "he is used to miracles happen on his behalf." On the road, people at an inn exchanged the precious stones in his chest for dirt from the house. In the morning, when Nachum saw it, he said, "This, too, is for the best," and continued on his way to present it to the emperor. When the latter saw the dirt, he was enraged, "Jew are mocking me!" and decided to kill them all. Nachum said, "That, too, is for the best."

Elijah the prophet appeared, looking like one of the court nobles, and suggested, "Perhaps this are magical dirt, which Abraham used to conquer his enemies." They tested the dirt in a far-away war, and the dirt turned into swords, the straw in it – into arrows, and they have successfully concluded the war. Upon return, they filled Nachum's chest with treasures as a sign of gratitude.

When Nachum returned to the same inn, the people saw the honor awarded him and asked him why. He told them the story. They razed the house, took the dirt from it, and presented it to the emperor, saying, "Nachum's dirt is from the same house." However, their dirt did not test as well as Nachum's, and they were executed.

Art: Treasures In The Granovitaya Palata by Konstantin  Egorovich Makovsky