Shabbat was quickly approaching and Abba Tachna was happy. He had managed to gather everything his family needed to make the holy day a true delight. His wife and children were awaiting him and he quickened his pace. The heavy bundle hoisted on his shoulder contained not only Shabbat delicacies, but many of his possessions, for Abba Tachna worked outside the city and returned home only for Shabbat. He hoped to arrive early enough to prepare himself properly for the holy day as was his weekly custom.

As Abba Tachna considered these thoughts, he saw a man lying in the middle of the road, groaning in pain. Abba Tachna approached the man who begged in a weak voice, "Please, Rabbi, bring me to my house. If you don't help me, I am sure I will die from pain and hunger, for I can't move."

Abba Tachna saw that the poor man was covered from head to foot with sores and bruises. He quickly considered the situation, for it was completely impossible for him to carry both his bundle and the injured man. He thought to himself, "If I carry the man to his home and leave my bundle here, it may be stolen, and then my family will have nothing. And if I take the time to bring the man home and then return here to pick up the bundle, it may be too late to carry the Shabbat food and then my family will go hungry. However, if I bring my bundle home and then return for the man, he may die, G-d forbid."

Abba Tachna's decision took mere seconds. Of course, he must bring the injured man to his home first. He let down his bundle and ever so gently raised the man to his shoulders and proceeded to the man's house. When they arrived he put the man in bed where the man's family began to tend to him. Then he hurried back to the roadside and, to his delight, found his bundle where he had left it.

Praising G-d, Abba Tachna doubled his pace toward home. As he approached the city, he saw many people, already dressed in their Shabbat clothes. They were hurrying towards the synagogues, prayer books in hand. Abba Tachna wondered, "Could the Shabbat already have arrived?" The people stared at him, and he read their thoughts, "Why is Abba Tachna still in his work clothes and carrying a bundle?"

Abba Tachna was seized with a panic; could it be that the Holy One would actually allow him to desecrate the Shabbat because he had expended precious time in order to save a man's life? Isn't it true that to save a life is the highest mitzva of all? Abba Tachna quickly scanned the horizon and with great relief saw that, in fact, the sun had not yet set. The Sabbath had not yet begun. He hurried to his home, bathed, dressed in his Shabbat clothes and rushed to the synagogue, arriving just in time. Abba Tachna prayed that Shabbat with a special fervor, for G-d had granted him the merit of saving a fellow Jew and also celebrating the holy Shabbat together with his family.