A certain man and his three friends.

There is an old Jewish story which goes like this. A certain man had three friends.

He liked two of them; but had little use for the third. One day he was ordered to appear in court. Alarmed, he looked around for someone to defend him. He immediately thought of his two favorite friends.

One said, "No way! I'm not going into any court." The second one said, "I'll go as far as the king's gate but no farther."

In despair the man then asked his least-loved friend for help. He said, "Sure, I'll come." And he did come, and he defended the man so well that he won his case.

Jewish rabbis go on to explain the story like this: Every person has three friends when Death calls and he must appear before his Creator. The friend he loves most is money; but it cannot go with him a single step.

The second friend is his circle of relatives and neighbors. They can only accompany him to the grave side. In no way can they defend him before the Judge.

His third friend, whom he neither likes nor esteems, is the only one that accompanies him to the judge and wins his case.

That friend is his list of good deeds done during his lifetime. ... (Jacob Braude)