Hey there, and welcome back to Take One, the podcast that brings you just one righteous page of Talmud each day.

And on today's Daft, Menachat 32, we learned about

one of the Talmud's most fascinating minor characters. Have a listen. The Gamara relates,

the members of the household of King Munba's would do so, i.e. Hank Mizuzot on sticks in their

ines, i.e. when they would sleep in an inn. They would not do this in order to

fulfill the mitzvah as one who sleeps in an inn is exempt for placing a mezusa, but in remembrance

of the mesuzza, since they would travel frequently, they wanted to remember the mitzvah of

Mizuzza, which they did not fulfill often. What a cool life hack.

Mesuzate on a stick for when you travel and just want to remember that back home you have a

beautiful Mazuzza.

But the larger question here is this.

Who was this mysterious king Munbas?

He was the king of Khadayib, an ancient kingdom in Assyria, the son of Queen Helene, living in the

first century C.E. Mother and son alike, the Talmud tells us, were deeply influenced by the Jewish

scholars they knew, so much so that they eventually not only converted to Judaism, but also sent

material support to the Jewish community in Israel during

the Great Revolt against the Romans.

Moonbaz in particular was known for his righteousness.

He was questioned once why he had spent so much money on charity during a particularly

rough economic patch, and he answered as following, my forefathers saved down here and I saved up there, meaning

charity is a form of saving that sanctifies heaven. My forefathers, he continued, preserved things in a

place where people can steal them. And I preserved things in a place where people can't steal them.

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