He gave me his card and a short list of New York stone dealers with whom he has established a track record. One of the names was a friend of mine with whom I have done some business. Shlome was a tough Israeli stone dealer who wouldn’t trust a weak, marginal credit risk. If he were doing business with this gentleman, his approval would be sufficient for me to FedEx it.
So after I returned to New York City, I visited Shlome. “Oh, so you met my customer from Chicago.” I detected his emotional jealousy – since his secret was revealed. “He is so good that you can sell the stone to me, and I will ship it and pay you immediately if he sells it.” I didn’t show my surprised internal reaction, as the total price would be more than $45,000. Why would he put himself at risk, without any profit motive? I quickly figured it out: he didn’t want another dealer to get close to his special customer.
Sure enough, Chicago called me and requested to have the stone for a few days.
I packed it, insured it, and carried it by hand to the closest FedEx office. They said that it should arrive in two days. And one week later, I got the call with the good news that it was sold (and there was no chiseling involved, a common act practiced by most New York City merchants). “I will send you my check after my customer check clears, usually within five days,” the caller said. “Thank you for all your help.”
I was indeed excited. I immediately called Joshua and told him that I had just made mazel and berachah on Junior, his tzuros stone, and I would have the payment in about a week.”
Joshua wasn’t too surprised. He later told me that he had emunah in Hashem, and emphasized the merit we gained on that Shavuos night! How else can we reconcile an unlikely event, after a yearlong try, of trying to sell an ugly green-yellow diamond with a glitz?
Somehow the color became beautiful, and the perfection became flawless.
Of course, as prophecy no longer exists, we have no absolute knowledge when God is acting, unless we witness a miracle, which is not the case here. But we also cannot say with complete knowledge that God was not involved in this case. If He was, this was yet another kindness and great deed from Hashem.
Finally, Joshua also said: “In Bereishis Hashem earmarked each and every stone He created, to be owned by a specific, designated individual.” (Of course, Hashem also decides who sells His stones.)