The wheel of fortune

As she closed the door after the departing guest, the woman found that she could barely stand. Her whole body trembled so much that she needed to lean on the wall. Several minutes passed until she was sure that she would not faint. Eventually she composed herself and sat down again at the table next to her husband, but her eyes were still wet. "what is the matter?" her husband asked, alarmed at her distress. "Oh, it's nothing," she replied. "I am just feeling a bit dizzy." Just minutes before, the husband and wife had sat down to their noonday meal. The husband, a wealthy merchant, closed his business every day at noon and returned home for lunch. The couple had not been married long, and in truth, they did not know much about each other's past. All the wife knew for sure was that her husband had once been a beggar, but the wheel of fortune had turned and he was now the proprietor of a successful business.

The knock on the door that day had been nothing out of the ordinary. Poor people were always coming to ask for a handout, and those collecting money for a good cause knew they would be well received. This time, the voice on the other side of the door had been especially pitiful. "Have pity on a poor Jew," the beggar had pleaded desperately. "It's been days since I have had anything to eat. Please give me a crust of bread. I ask for nothing more."

Without hesitation, he told his wife to invite the beggar in and give him his entire plate of food. The beggar had quickly devoured the meal, the whole time thanking and blessing his benefactors. After the beggar had left, the husband was surprised to see how agitated his wife had become, But why was she so upset? In response to his gentle questioning the wife confessed. "I'm sorry, but I was suddenly reminded of my former life in Cairo, Egypt, before I was married to you. Like you, my first husband was a very rich man, and I also used to cook for him the most delicious meals. He too would close his store and come home for lunch. Unfortunately, my husband had one bad character trait that ruined his life: he was extremely stingy. He was so unwilling to help the poor that he forbade me to give them any food if they came to the door. It bothered me very much, but I wanted to preserve peace in the home and obeyed his wishes. One day there was a knock on the door. 'Who is there?' he screamed. 'I am a poor Jew,' was the answer. 'Please help me. I have not eaten in many days, and I am about to expire from hunger.' This caused my husband only to get angry. 'Go away!' he shouted at the intruder who dared to interrupt his meal. 'These impudent beggars will not even let a person eat in peace...' He then slammed the door in the poor man's face.
"From that day on, my husband's business began to falter. One loss followed another until all the money was gone. Even the house was lost to creditors, and we were left with nothing. At that point my husband insisted that we divorce, and we each went our separate ways. I never saw him again, but it was rumored that he had become a beggar. That is, until today," the woman said. Do you know who that poor man was who just left our house? It was my first husband." The husband's eyes filled with tears. He too was moved. "As a matter of fact, my dear," he replied, "I recognized him. I myself was the beggar he turned away from the door that fateful day."