An Unexpected Visitor

Long long ago there lived a man by the name Plimo. Plimo was a man of wisdom, very well read and was quitepopular in his city. People who knew Plimo, praised his intelligence and regarded him as a man of action. Otherwise a good man, Plimo had a habit to boast and he bragged almost every day how none, even Satan, could ever subjugate him. "An arrow in your eye, Satan!" he often said this before his friends and family members.

One year, on Erev Yom Kippur, Plimo did not go out to work and was piously making the preparations for Yom Kippur at his home. All members of his family, including himself, had taken the "mikvah", dressed up in whiteclothes and were getting ready to sit down to dine before going to the synagogue to hear the Kol Nidre. Plimo's wife was laying delicious foods on the table when there was a knock at the door.

Plimo opened the door to find a poor beggar standing outside his house. The wretched creature had ugly sores all over his body and was bent with exhaustion and pain. Sadness was written all over his face and the blackened lips in his bearded face parted to mumble in a feeble voice:

"Have mercy on me good man. Please give me some food. I had nothing to eat for more than a day."

"Sure, just wait here". said Plimo. He went in and came out again quickly to hand a piece of bread to the man.

But the beggar was not satisfied. "Shall you not call me inside?" he said "On such a day, when everyone is dining at home, why should I stay out?"

Plimo hesitated. He had only a few hours to go for the prayer and what if the man created problems and took much more time to eat? But he remembered the holy commandment to feed the hungry. Plimo reluctantly called the beggar inside and returned to his table to dine with his family.

The man sat down and removed his shawl which revealed his ugly sores, many of which appeared to burst. Black flies flied around them, and the man waved his hands now and again to disperse the insects. Plimo's wife