Ben Kalba Savua - What Kind Of Name Is That For One Of The Richest Men In Yerushalayim?
The gemara says (Gittin 56a) that after the Romans laid siege on Yerushalayim, the three richest men had storehouses of supplies to sustain the city for 21 years. One of these men was nicknamed Kalba Savua, the satisfied dog, because whoever came into his house ravenous like a dog, left satisfied after being properly served and nourished.
The Tiferes Shlomo Of Radomsk asks that this name is appropriate for the guests who come into Kalba Savua’s house and not Kalba Savua who surely was never hungry? He answers that Kalba Savua’s Chesed was on a very high level. He didn’t just feed the hungry, he made sure to feel their pain and put himself into their shoes. He understood what it meant to be hungry and not have eaten a decent meal in a long time. He served them with zealousness and catered to their every whim in order to relieve them of their suffering which made a deep impression on him.
Because of this, he earned the honorary title of Kalba Savua, as a tribute to the mega millionaire who managed to personally feel the poor man’s hunger pangs.
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