When the great Sage Rabbi Chanina ben Dossa saw the people of his city bringing voluntary gifts to the Beit Hamikdash in Yerushalayim, he was pained by the thought that he had nothing to offer because of his self-imposed poverty.

He went out into the forest near his city and found a large stone. After shaping and polishing it he made a pledge to bring it to Yerushalayim.

His first attempt to hire some workers to transport the stone was unsuccessful because this saintly man lacked enough money to pay them. There then appeared five men who asked only a nominal fee for transporting the stone but insisted that he lend a hand as well. No sooner had he placed his finger on the stone than they found themselves in Yerushalayim. But when he tried to pay the carriers, they were nowhere to be found.

Upon entering the Beit Hamikdash to present his beautiful stone and relate how it had been transported, he was told that it seems that those carriers were Heavenly angels sent to help him fulfill his pledge.