In Honor of Shabbat, We Do Not Compromise

A true story that took place last week at a well-known fish shop in Beitar Illit:

A young woman came to buy a fish in honor of Shabbat. The Arab worker took a fish from the pool, placed it on the scale, and told her that it cost 150 shekels.

The young woman replied that they usually pay a maximum of 100 shekels for such a fish each week and asked whether prices had gone up.
“No,” the worker answered. “It weighs more, so it costs more.”

The young woman called home and asked her mother what to do. Her mother replied, “For Shabbat, we do not skimp. Buy it for 150 shekels.” The worker then opened the fish’s belly and began cleaning it.

Meanwhile, the young woman noticed the worker remove something from the fish’s belly and throw it into the trash. She asked him, “What did you throw away?”
“Nothing,” he replied, “just the usual things we always discard.”

After she insisted, the worker agreed to retrieve the item from the trash. Before their eyes, a gold necklace appeared.

The young woman asked the worker to give her the necklace, but he refused, claiming it belonged to him. A dispute immediately broke out, and several customers joined in to support the young woman.

The worker called the shift manager, who then contacted the store manager. The manager ruled in favor of the customer.

The young woman took the necklace home, and after Shabbat, they brought it to an appraiser. It turned out the necklace was worth $12,000.

“He who toils on the eve of Shabbat will eat on Shabbat.”