It so happened that a saint was dying in the Jewish community. He was a poor man, but very, very rich—rich in his being. He was a mystic and the whole community was concerned. They called doctors of all kinds, but nothing could be done. Death came closer and closer with every moment. Then the whole community gathered to do the last thing - to pray. But it turned out that even this did not work.
Then the rabbi said: “Now we can only do one thing, and God will not help if we don’t do it. We must share our lives, so sacrifice a few days, a few years of your life for this dying saint.”
So everyone came forward; everyone loved him. One person said, “One year,” another said, “Five years.” Someone said: "A month." Someone said: "One day." One merchant said: “One minute.” But even this - even this is not a small thing, not a trifle.
Then Mulla Nasrudin, who was also there, came forward. He was not a Jew, but he also loved this mystic. He said: "Twenty years..."
Nobody could believe him. One Jew who was sitting right behind him touched him and said, “What are you doing? Are you crazy? What do you mean? You're crazy!
Nasreddin said: “... from the life of my wife!”
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru