The Disloyal Customer

A single young man, having no family, often ate at a restaurant in the center of the city of Chelm. He knew the owner, Moishe, and he ate there regularly. The only other restaurant in Chelm, Chaim’s, was located directly across the street from Moishe’s.

One day, the young man went to eat at Chaim’s; and when Moishe saw what had happened, he was totally distraught. He said, “How can you not eat at my place? Aren’t we like family?”

The young man replied that indeed they were.

Moishe asked, “Isn’t my food good?”

The young man replied that the food was delicious and that the portions were exceedingly generous.

Moishe then asked, “So why did you go eat at Chaim’s restaurant on the other side of the street?”

The young man explained that he had terrible toothache in his molar on the far left side of his mouth. He’d been told that the intinerant dentist would not be in town for another week.

Therefore, the young man explained to Moishe: “I went to the Rabbi and asked what to do to ease the pain. The Rabbi said, ‘Eat on the other side.’ So, I went to the other side and ate at Chaim’s.”