Weekly Story: Saving A Jew

by Rabbi Sholom DovBer Avtzon

When I was writing the book on the Shpoler Zeide, I noted in the introduction that the Rebbe said that the Shpoler Zeide and Reb Leib Sarah’s are the same person. This is not just the Rebbe’s opinion but it is noted in other Chassidic courts as well. While I am now focusing on completing the biography of the Frierdiker Rebbe, I decided that from time to time I should post a story on Reb Leib Sarah’s in this series of The Weekly Story.

The following story is story # 292 in Sippurei Chassidim Moadim (festivals) from Rabbi Zevin. At the same time, I request that if anyone is aware of additional stories about Reb Leib Sarah’s or of booklets that contain stories or facts about him to please inform me of it. I would appreciate it, as that would enable me to present a clearer picture of his life and some of the miracles he performed. (As I only know of a few other stories about him.)

As always, your feedback is greatly appreciated. 

In the final years of Reb Leib’s life, the tzaddik Reb Ezriel of Polotzk, who had learned from the Maggid, decided to accompany him on his journeys. 

One time they were going to Vilna, and a few miles from Vilna they stopped off at an inn which had a tavern. They paid for a room for the night. 

In the morning Ren Leib asked Reb Ezriel to please call the innkeeper. When he came to Reb Leib’s room, Reb Leib commanded him to go to a street that no Jew is supposed to walk on and call the prince who lives there. He should tell the prince that in his inn there is a Jew by the name of Leib ben Sarah, and he is requesting that the prince visit him. 

The innkeeper was shocked and replied, Am I crazy to do such a thing? A Jew that walks on that street is not guaranteed that he would come out alive.  The prince is a son of a king, and he never spoke with a Jew. So how can I tell him that a Jew is demanding that he comes to him?

Reb Leib retorted, “Do you know who I am? I am Leib ben Sarah, and if you don’t obey me, you will regret it!”

The host left the room intending to ignore this warning, however, he then noticed that his wife and two sons had suddenly became ill, and they were lying in bed in grave danger.  He understood that it was a result of his refusal to obey the tzaddik, so he rushed back to the tzaddik’s room and said, I am prepared to do as the tzaddik instructs me to do, as long as the harsh decree is removed from my family.  

Go immediately without any delay to the prince and tell him to come to me, and your family members will immediately be healed.

The man was terrified, but he went to that danger zone and began walking on that forbidden street. To his tremendous relief and surprise no one said a word to him. Arriving at the residence of the prince, he knocked on the gate, and a servant asked him what he wanted. He simply replied, I must speak with the prince.

The servant informed the princes’ attendants that a Jew was standing outside and was requesting to speak with the prince. During their conversation the prince walked by and his attendants gave over the message. 

The prince instructed them to allow the Jew to enter. When the Jew entered, he said, “My master, the prince, in my inn is an elderly Jew, whose name is Leib ben Sarah. He instructed me to summon my master, the prince, to come to him immediately.”

Hearing the name of the tzaddik, the prince became terrified and replied, I am going to him, just please wait until I can put on my coat etc.

The innkeeper was completely dumbfounded at the prince’s reaction and reply. True to his word, the prince hurriedly got dressed. Together they began walking to the Tzaddik.

When they came to the inn, Reb Leib instructed the innkeeper to visit his family members, and to his sheer happiness they all were healthy. At that same time, the tzaddik called the prince to his room. After speaking for some time, the prince left, and Reb Leib told Reb Ezriel to get the wagon as they were leaving immediately.

When the prince arrived at his residence, he thought over this strange occurrence, and wondered what caused him to fear and tremble to the extent to run over to a Jew, whose name was Leib ben Sarah, whom he never heard of. He immediately sent his soldiers to the inn to bring that Jew to him. While they rushed over a few minutes after they were sent there, their effort was futile as he was no longer there. Returning, they informed him that the old Jew had already left.

Some weeks or perhaps months later a non-Jewish worker of that innkeeper suddenly disappeared, and no one in the town knew where he may be. The local priests made the accusation that the Jew must have killed him in order to knead the flour with his blood and use that dough to make matzos for passover. [This is known as the blood libel that many Jewish communities in those days were accused of.]

The authorities immediately arrested the Jewish innkeeper and placed him in prison. Being that he denied all charges, they began torturing him with unbearable and bitter measures, in order to force him to admit to a crime that he did not do. 

Initially he continued to deny that he had any connection in the workers disappearance. Furthermore, he stated that it is forbidden for a Jew to eat blood, so the whole thing is a false accusation. However, as they increased the frequency and severity of the afflictions, he could no longer bear it. He then said to himself, I would rather die than continue enduring this, so he admitted to whatever they wanted. At that point they stopped hurting him, in order that the judges could decree that being that he admitted to the crime he deserves the death penalty, with the hope that the judges would also punish the larger Jewish community as well.  

Sure enough the judgement was passed that he should die, but according to the protocol, it required the prince’s signature to be carried out.

Everyone considered this a mere formality, as the prince always signed onto the judgement. But this time the prince said, I am about to go to the fair to buy some horses, and I know that this Jew knows how to evaluate the worthiness of a horse. Therefore, I want to keep him alive until after the fair and if the honored judges state when I bring him back that their decision remains in effect, I will immediately affix my signature to their decision.

This was agreed to and the Jewish innkeeper went with the prince to purchase the horses that served the prince’s needs. However, he was accompanied by a few guards wherever he went, to prevent him from running away and escaping.

One day while he was walking around the fair examining the horses, he suddenly saw his former worker walking around. A moment later the worker noticed him and full of joy he ran over to him. He fell to the ground and said, “Thanks to the Creator, I see you here!”

If you are so happy in being close to me, can you please tell me why you ran away without informing anyone about your whereabouts, asked the innkeeper. We were so nervous about your well-being.

The worker began to cry, “My dear master, you treated me better than my father and mother did. But one of the town priests began convincing me that I should travel to a distant town, and he promised me that there I would receive a nice house with some fields. Even after he repeated this offer to me numerous times, I refused to listen to him.

Then, one night somebody asked me to come outside. When I came outside a few men grabbed me and placed me in a wagon. They tied me up and drove me to a very distant place. They dropped me off without giving me anything and since then I have been walking from place to place, and I have no way to support myself. I always desired to return to you, but the distance was too far to walk, and I had no way to pay for transportation.

I wasn’t planning on coming here today, but last night an elderly Jew and his attendant came to me, after placing me in their wagon they brought me here. I slept throughout the night in their traveling wagon, and in the morning when I awoke the elderly Jew told me: Search for your master, as he is here at the fair!

The worker then began pleading, please take me back with you to your house, so I don’t die of starvation! 

The innkeeper’s spirit was revived. He knew that this is somehow connected to the elderly Jew who sent him to the prince, and just knew that everything will now be good.

Turning to the worker he said, first come and eat something that you don’t starve. He took him to an inn and paid for the worker’s meal. He then told him, I have work to do, so wait here until I return [in a few hours] to pick you up. Don’t leave this place, until I return! He then bought the other horses that the prince required, tied them all up to the coach and they began to return.

But a moment later the horses began running wildly and went off the road. The prince was fearful that the wagon would overturn, and who knows what the consequences would be. Noticing this fear the Jew said, “My master, I know of an expert wagon driver here, who definitely can control these horses. If it is proper in your honors eyes, I will request that he joins us as the driver. Being that he lives in a village near to us, I am confident that he will agree to this proposition as he is in a rush to return home.

The prince agreed and the Jew went to get his worker, who took over the reins and drove back without any mishap.

On the way back the prince turned to the Jew and said, You surely remember that a while back you came to me as a messenger of an elderly Rabbi who was then in your house.

Yes, I remember that incident quite vividly, replied the Jew.

Therefore, I will now reveal to you what he said to me in the privacy of his room as I still don’t understand his intent, said the prince. The Rabbi said, I am going to ask you for a small favor. When the authorities request that you sign off on their decision to kill this Jew, reply that before you do so, you need him to go to the fair to purchase horses. At the same time inform them that when you return you will fulfill their request.

When I received the judgement against you, I realized that this Rabbi has the spirit of his G-d in him, and I was thinking that without a doubt your salvation will come from your being at this fair. Now we are returning, and I promised the judges that I would hand you over to them to confirm your sentence and I will sign it.  So tell me what did that Rabbi accomplish through his request of me?

When we return to the city and stand in front of the judges and witnesses who recognize the worker, then you will understand the Rabbi’s intentions, replied the Jew. Know that the one who is driving the horses is my former worker! The priest commanded his henchmen to take him to a town that is very distant from us, in order to make this baseless accusation against me. If my master would ask the driver, he would inform his honor whatever they did to him.  

The prince was overwhelmed in astonishment and declared; Now I know that the True G-d is in Israel. But tell me, if you are really innocent why did you sign onto the accusation and admit that you are the one that killed him? Don’t you realize that that admission arouses the fury in the hearts of non-Jews against all Jews?!

The Jew burst into a cry and replied, I was too weak to continue bearing the horrific torture that were inflicting on my body, and I decided that death is better than life. I simply couldn’t endure any more suffering. This is a sample of every signed confession a Jew gives; it is a result of the torture and suffering they endured in prison.

The prince interrogated the driver, and he told him all the details of what had occurred to him, in respect to his disappearance. The prince informed the judges that he has returned and requests that the accuser and witnesses be present, so all see that he is honoring his promise and returning the Jew to the jurisdiction of the court. 

The next morning after everyone was in the courtroom the prince arrived with the Jew and the worker. The witnesses immediately recognized him, and in the presence of the priest, the worker related to the court the entire story.

The court immediately declared that the Jew is completely innocent, and passed a severe judgement on the priest instead.

A Taste of Chassidus

Ki Sissa Es Rosh 5733 Maamar

This week’s parsha begins with the words Ki Sissa. Now Ki Sissa means when you [Moshe] will uplift the Jewish people; however, the parsha is speaking about when Moshe will count the Jewish people, so why does the possuk use an expression of uplifting when it can use a word that means counting?

Additionally, we have to understand what the midrash says that Moshe had difficulty understanding how this will work, so Hashem said to him, Zeh Yitnu – This is what they should give; how does Zeh answer his question?

Finally, why does the possuk instruct us to give half of a shekel and then inform us that a shekel is twenty gera and we should give half of that. The possuk could have simply said everyone should give ten gera?

As was asked, the purpose was to count the Jewish people. The fact that you are counting anything demonstrates that each one is a separate entity from the other. This was Moshe’s difficulty. Moshe is the Nasi/King of the Jewish people, and he encompasses all of them as one entity. So, he couldn’t understand how he was supposed to count them as separate entities, when essentially they are one entity?

The clue in Hashem’s response are in the words Zeh Yitnu – This is what they should give. Our sages teach us that Zeh – this refers to something that is in front of you that you see and can point to. As is known (we discussed thus last week) that only part of the soul is able to be contained by the body, while there is a part that cannot be contained, and to that part one cannot point to.

So Hashem replied, “Your question is valid when you view the Jewish people from your perspective (or better said from the way they are essentially part of you). However, when one looks at them what does he see? He sees separate entities.

What I am asking of you is to elevate them so that they are seen as they truly are in their essence; and that is, they are one entity. 

Therefore, the Torah uses the word elevate instead of counting, as the ultimate purpose of this counting was that they should be elevated to their true level as they are in their source, there the entire nation is one.

This also explains why the possuk states that they should give a half a shekel and doesn’t simply say they should give ten gera.

Hashem is talking to each one of us. You should know that what you see right now, your ten attributes (three of intellect and seven attributes), are only half of your true essence. A complete shekel is twenty gereh, presently you are only seen as ten gereh. However, through the ability of Moshe, the Nasi of the nation, he will reveal in you your complete essence, the other half that presently is concealed.

When the Rebbe said this maamar, it was on parshas Vayakhel, Shabbos Shekalim. Being that we read this parsha on Shabbos Shekalim, the maamar was on this possuk.

The Rebbe brought out that this is also the concept of Vayakhel Moshe – And Moshe gathered. 

You gather separate aspects and bring them together. Moshe gathered the Jews and brought them together, revealing that in essence we are one and not separate entities.

Rabbi Avtzon is a veteran mechanech and the author of numerous books on the Rebbeim and their Chassidim. He can be contacted at avtzonbooks@gmail.com