Rabbi Simeon brushed sawdust off his hands. “I have a special announcement.” All but one apprentice in the shop stopped to listen.

“Jacob,” the rabbi instructed, “our work is finished for the day.” Jacob didn’t respond.

Jacob only heard the swish-swish of the saw. The other boys in the shop began to snicker.

Rabbi Simeon let out a deep sigh and shook his head, but down deep he was pleased. He knew what it was like to get lost in the world of woodworking. But it was time to go home.

“Jacob!” the rabbi called again.

The sawing stopped. “I’m sorry, Rabbi,”

Jacob said softly.

Rabbi Simeon smiled. “It’s all right. Put away your tools and hang up your apron.”

Jacob hung up his apron as the other boys continued to snicker. Finally the rabbi spoke, and all eyes turned to him.

“My nephew from Nazareth should be here in a few days. He is a master carpenter who will help me select one of you for a special task. The one who builds the best project will work with me on the new synagogue.”

I just have to be chosen, Jacob determined. I want to use my hands to help build God’s house.

The rabbi was speaking. “I’ll be away for the next three days, but you may all use the workshop to finish your projects.” As the others began to leave, the rabbi asked Jacob to stay.

Jacob waited till everyone had left and then approached the carpenter. “I’m sorry, Rabbi,” he apologized. “I’ll do better next time.”

The rabbi motioned for Jacob to sit on one of the stools. “Jacob, you’ve done nothing wrong.

I need to tell you something.” The rabbi smiled and continued. “God has given you the gift of woodworking. What is difficult for many is easy for you. Surely, you’ve noticed.”

Jacob nodded. He had wondered why other boys struggled to make things that seemed so simple to him.

“God gives gifts, Jacob. You have a special gift. Have you ever wondered why God gave you the gift of woodworking?”

“So I can learn to be a good carpenter?”

“Well,” the rabbi chuckled, “not exactly. God gave you this gift to share with others. Let’s say you gave a present to one of my daughters. How do you think that would make me feel?”

“Happy?”

“Of course. Even though you gave the gift to my child, I would feel like you had given it to me. God is like that, too. So when we give a gift to one of God’s children, it’s like giving a gift to Him.”

“Now, run home and tell your father that I hope he has an inn full of guests next week.”

“We’re expecting a lot of business, son,” Jacob’s father reminded him that evening.

“I will work on my project in the mornings,” Jacob promised, “and help you in the evenings.”

The next three mornings Jacob worked hard to complete his project. He was building a new kind of animal feed trough with wheels. On the night before Rabbi Simeon returned, Jacob went to the workshop after helping his father at the inn.

Jacob looked at his project. I must finish tonight, he thought. So much work still to do. But I’m so tired. Maybe if I close my eyes for a few minutes . . .

The next moment, a beam of starlight slipped through a crack and fell across Jacob’s napping eyes. “What!” he shouted, startled by the sudden light. Had he slept through the night? Then he looked out and saw a gleaming, shimmering light in the night.

Jacob rubbed the sleep from his eyes as he walked outside and toward the star that seemed to dance in the sky over the stable behind his father’s inn.

As he got closer, he heard a strange sound. He looked through a hole in the stable wall.

A baby was in a tiny nest of straw on the ground! Beside the baby knelt his mother and a man. The baby must be uncomfortable on the ground, Jacob thought.

Jacob raced back to the workshop. He stood beside his feed trough. Tomorrow the rabbi would select the best project.

But tonight there’s a new baby without a place to sleep. . . .

“Good morning, boys,” said Rabbi Simeon.

Jacob approached the rabbi. “Uh, sir . . . I need to tell you something.”

“Later, Jacob. We need to get everything ready. Where is your project?”

“Uh . . . something happened. A big star —”

“Uncle Simeon!”

“Joseph!” Simeon shouted. “I’m so glad you’re here!”

Jacob’s eyes widened. This was the man he had seen with the baby in the stable the night before.

“Jacob, this is my nephew from Nazareth.”

“We’ve already met,” said Joseph. “In fact, Jacob gave my newborn son his very first gift.”

“Your son?” the rabbi inquired. “Where is he?’

“Come, and I’ll show you.”

Joseph led the Rabbi and Jacob past the inn toward a shelter. “The stable?” Simeon asked. “You kept your baby in a—”

Joseph smiled. “Shh, Uncle. They’re asleep.”

When the rabbi looked inside, he saw a beautiful newborn baby.

“His name is Jesus,” Joseph whispered. “And his cradle is fit for a king.”

Joseph’s kindness made Jacob’s cheeks turn red. “Tell me, Jacob,” said the rabbi, “why did you decide to give your feed trough away?”

“I remembered what you said. ‘When you give a gift to one of God’s children, you give a gift to God.’”

The rabbi’s voice was soft. “And so you have, my son. So you have.”