Weekly Story: Why Are You Living in That City

by Rabbi Sholom D. Avtzon

A chossid from the chassidishe city of Polotsk once came to the Rebbe Maharash. By trade he was a watchmaker, and he was a good one indeed. However, it was already a few years that he had been living in this city and he just couldn’t make ends meet. “There already are a few other established craftsmen in the city,” he told the Rebbe, “and there isn’t enough work to sufficiently support all of us. Simply put, I am unable to provide for my family in Polotsk. I am therefore asking the Rebbe for guidance: should I perhaps move to the distant town of Vladamir, where, I am told, my talents are in great need?”

The Rebbe replied in the affirmative and blessed him with success in all his endeavors. Heeding the Rebbe’s advice, the chossid moved with his family Vladimir.

Whoever had advised him that Vladamir needed a skilled watchman knew what he was talking about. Almost immediately, success began to shine upon him. He was now able to provide for his family with ease, and he was even able to buy items for them that a short while earlier he wouldn’t even have dreamed of owning. The chossid was extremely happy; Boruch Hashem, things were going good.

The only thing that bothered him was the fact that there was no one in Vladimir with whom he could learn. Almost all of the adult Jews living there were retired Cantonist soldiers who had served in the Russian army for twenty-five years. The fact that many of them remembered how to read Hebrew and would daven and say some Tehillim, as well as follow the laws and customs of a Jewish household, was in itself a tremendous accomplishment. To learn, however, was beyond them. This was especially so since some of them had been forcefully taken away from their parents when they had not even reached the age of ten. It is understandable, then, that their learning abilities were extremely limited.

When the chossid settled in Vladimir, the Cantonists were thrilled. Now there was a Jew in town who knew how to read the Torah properly! The chossid was asked to do so, and he happily agreed.

Some months passed, and the chossid’s success and wealth grew rapidly. He was so busy helping customers that he soon couldn’t keep up with the demand for his services, he needed more manpower, so he trained a few men who began working for him, causing his business to expand even more. After a while, with his family’s consent and blessing, he decided to visit the Rebbe in Lubavitch and thank him. He was certain that his unbelievable success had come about because of the Rebbe’s brachah.

Spending time in Lubavitch was a tremendously wonderful experience. The chossid relished the opportunity to sit among his fellow chassidim and farbreng with them. After the Rebbe said a maamar, it was reviewed publically and discussed and analyzed, reminding him how much he used to enjoy this chassidishe atmosphere and camaraderie. Yes, this was the type of life he so enjoyed. But what was he to do; a person has to support his family!

Then the highlight and purpose of the entire trip finally arrived: the gabbai informed him that tomorrow he would be entering the Rebbe’s room for a yechidus. The chossid prepared himself for yechidus as he remembered having always done: he went to the mikvah, studied a maamar thoroughly, and then davened at a slow pace, concentrating on the unique connection between Hashem and the Jewish people. Only then was he ready to walk into the Rebbe’s room. He handed the Rebbe his note, thanking the Rebbe for his brachah and asking for a brachah for continued success in all his endeavors.

But to his surprise, instead of replying to what he had written in his note, the Rebbe asked him: “Have you set aside time on a daily basis to learn with others?”

“Rebbe!” he replied. “The rest of the Jews in town are completely ignorant of Torah. The parents are former Cantonist soldiers who barely remember anything from their youth. So what can be expected from them and their children? Boruch Hashem, they come to shul every day, recite the few prayers they are capable of saying, and answer amen. They follow our holy traditions to the best of their ability. This is their level. There is absolutely no one there for me to learn with!

“I am the only one capable of leining [reading the Torah properly] every Shabbos, and there is one other Jew who sometimes serves as the chazzan. Preparing for leining, studying on my own, and making a livelihood leaves me no time to study with others, even if there would be others. But Rebbe,. there are no others!”

“So tell me,” asked the Rebbe, “if that is the case, why did you move away from the learned and chassidishe city of Polotsk and go to Vladamir? Why did you leave a place that is renowned for its learning and religious adherence and move to a place that is like a wilderness, barren of Torah and mitzvah observance?”

The chossid was confused. Why was the Rebbe asking him this question when he certainly knew the answer? However, since the Rebbe had asked, he had to respond. So he replied:

“The last time I was here in a yechidus with the Rebbe, I told the Rebbe about my financial dilemma and the difficulties I faced in supporting my family. At that time, I asked the Rebbe if I should move to Vladamir, where I was told my skill is in great demand. Perhaps I hadn’t realized how ignorant the Jews there were, and it is indeed a place barren of Torah and mitzvos. However, the Rebbe gave me his blessings to move, so I did just that. And yes, the Rebbe’s brachah materialized beyond my wildest expectations!”

Looking at the chossid, the Rebbe replied:

“You are mistaken to think that you moved to Vladamir simply to earn a livelihood and especially a good livelihood. A person’s livelihood comes from Hashem. The same way He provides for you in Vladamir, He can provide for you in Polotsk! Do you really think that Hashem would provide for you only in a place where you can’t study Torah properly or fulfill the mitzvos adequately?

“You are mistaken. The Baal Shem Tov taught us that a neshamah comes down to this world just for the sake of helping another Jew. Your move to Vladamir was orchestrated by Hashem so that there should be a Jew living there who makes time to learn with other Jews. The reason you are in that town is to teach and inspire even those who are ignorant.

“My agreement for this move and blessing for material success there is contingent on you efforts to influence others to learn, and to spread the teachings of the Torah and the proper way of doing mitzvos among the entire Jewish community!”

***

I bring this story to you from the upcoming biography on the Rebbe Maharash as it is a timely one, since the custom in Lubavitch is, that after Simchas Torah we say, “V’Yaakov Holach L’darko.” This means that now that Tishrei is over, we are leaving this month, which was full of spiritual wealth, and returning back to our everyday life. However, we must realize that the purpose is to infuse these regular days with the spiritual richness we have accumulated over Tishrei. This is the theme of this story.

Perhaps this was also the Rebbe’s intent in the HaYom Yom for the first day of Cheshvan (this past Wednesday): “Tzaddikim, being gifted with vision, can perceive where their sparks await them and proceed there on their own accord. For common people, by contrast, the Cause of all causes and the Prime Mover sets in motion a chain of events and circumstances that will bring an individual to the particular place where he is duty-bound to fulfill his specific tasks of elevating the sparks there.”

This week’s story is in memory of Reb Moshe Dovid ben Reb Mordechai, whose first yahrzeit is today, the 3rd of Cheshvan.

Rabbi Avtzon is a veteran mechanech in the United Lubavitch Yeshiva on Ocean Parkway and is available to farbreng in your city. He can be reached at avtzonbooks@gmail.com.

2 Comments

  • Yosef

    Rabbi Avtzon thank you for your weekly story, which quite often gives one some food for thought.

  • Yiddene

    Wow, what a story. Although I already was familiar with this story, reading it the way Rabbi Avtzon so eloquently wrote it up sent me a powerful message and reminder.
    Thank you for posting Rabbi Avtzon’s stories each week. I look out for them.