Reb Shlomo Carlebach, z”l, tells the story of Reb Yitzchak
Zelig of Sokolov, zy”a, great-grandson of the
Kotzker, zy”a. When the Sokolover came to Sokolov, he
wandered around the shuls and batei midrash looking
for a true and deep Jew with whom he could connect. As he looked at
the people in each shul as only someone like him could, he sadly did
not see that special light in anyone he found. Finally, in one little
shul, he found a simple Jew, sitting behind the oven and saying
Tehillim, and saw a special light emanating from him. He thought that
he had finally found someone with whom he could connect.
The
Sokolover ran over to this man and introduced himself as the new rav
in town. The man identified himself as Moisheleh the water carrier.
In those days, the most difficult, the lowest job, was carrying water
for people. The Rebbe wanted to find out something about Moisheleh,
to find out what made him great, but the man virtually ignored the
Rebbe, answering every question with a grunt or one-word answer. He
could not find out anything. Eventually, after trying several times,
he resigned himself to the fact that he might never find out what
made Moisheleh great.
Some
time later, the Rebbe was walking in a poor section of Sokolov, on
the outskirts of town, when he heard the sounds of celebration at one
of the shacks in the neighborhood. He saw that people were gathering
around of the shacks for some sort of celebration. He asked people
what was happening, and they said that Moisheleh was making some sort
of celebration, but that it was not a bris or
traditional type of occasion, and that they did not actually know the
reason for Moisheleh’s joy. The Rebbe then came into Moisheleh’s
home and found him dancing with his guests. He asked what the source
of the simchah was, so Mosheleh told the Sokolover
and everyone else present the following story:
I
am so poor and the few pennies I bring home carrying water are not
enough to care for my wife and daughters, who are starving every day.
It breaks my heart to see them this way. So every day I daven to
Hashem, “Please, G-d, give me 1,000 rubles. I know that with that
amount of money, I could make a new start and support my family.
Please!”
Hashem
never answered this prayer, but I continued davening this way every
day, perhaps out of habit. Then, yesterday, I was walking outside the
shul one morning and I found, in front of me, an envelope with
exactly 1,000 rubles in it! I knew it could not be a coincidence that
I found the exact amount of money for which I had been asking G-d. I
was overjoyed! I rushed home happily and placed the money on the
side. I decided to let it sit there for a few days before I made any
major changes. Besides, I did not want to let down the people who
depend on me to carry water.
I
felt so grateful to Hashem that He had finally answered my prayer.
All of the water I carried that day felt so light, like I was
carrying feathers. Then, when I came
to shul for minchah and maariv yesterday
afternoon, I saw something unexpected. The widow, Chanaleh, was
standing by the shul and everyone was trying to comfort her. She was
sobbing uncontrollably. It turns out that after her husband had died,
the whole town got together to collect money to help support her.
They had collected 1,000 rubles, but the envelope with the money had
been lost. No one could find it and Chanalah was heartbroken.
I
knew immediately what had happened and I was so angry. I immediately
left the shul and said to G-d, “Master of the
World, I cannot believe you did this to me. If I had never found the
exact amount of money I had asked You for, it would have been very
hard, but I could have managed. But now that You gave it to me, how
can You take it back? I’m sorry. I can’t. I’m through with You.
We are no longer on speaking terms.”
I
came home and went straight to bed without davening. My wife asked me
what was happening, so I simply told her, “I’m not davening,”
and I went to bed. But as I lay there, I could not sleep throughout
the night. And suddenly, Hashem began talking to me. So I told him,
“G-d, I told you that after what You did to me, I’m not talking
to you anymore and I’m not going to daven, so don’t think that
You’re going to get me to start davening.”
But
Hashem answered me, “Don’t worry, I’m not going to try to get
you to daven. But I want to know how you can lie down and go to sleep
when poor Chanalah is suffering? How can you go to sleep with a
widow’s money in your house? It doesn’t belong to you!”
I
knew He was right so I got dressed early this morning, grabbed the
envelope, and went out. I went to Chanalah’s house and knocked on
the door. When she answered, I handed her the envelope and said,
“Here, I found this envelope and I think it’s the money you
lost.”
I
can’t describe the look of joy and relief on Chanalah’s face. It
was like something from another world. At that moment, I felt
complete serenity and happiness. All of my worries about my own
trouble and suffering melted away. All the wealth in the world could
not possibly equal the pleasure I got when I handed the money to
Chanalah the widw.
I
therefore held this simchah in my house tonight to
celebrate how grateful I am that Hashem spoke to me, that He gave me
the strength to return the money to Chanalah, that I merited to see
Chanalah’s face when I handed her the money, and most of all, I am
celebrating the fact that I am privileged to be a Jew and have a
connection to Hashem.
[From the dixieyid]
