1. Tuesday Night, Tavo, 5627 (1867).
The Neschizer rebbe told that his father, the Moharam, was at first involved in business matters. On every business trip he would earn some money, until he saved enough for an etrog.
One time, he saved six rubles for this purpose. He went to buy an etrog in Brode—he was still living in the city of Leshnov—and he met a water-drawer who carried water with the help of a horse. His horse had died, and he was weeping and groaning.
The Moharam asked him, “Why are you crying?”
When the man told him what had happened, the rebbe stood and gave him the six rubles with which to buy another horse.
The Moharam said, “What’s the difference? The etrog is a mitzvah from Hashem and this too is a mitzvah from Hashem.”
The writer states: I heard that he said lightly, “Everyone makes a blessing on an etrog, and I will make a blessing on a horse.”
But in the end he was brought a very beautiful etrog.
2. The Neschizer rebbe told that his father, the Moharam, said that his offspring would be present at the time of the coming of the redeemer. May he come quickly, in our days.
3. This took place in the summer of 5627 (1866-67) on a Wednesday night, I do not remember the parshah, for I forgot at the time to make a note of it.
The Neschizer rebbe told that the holy R. Yitzchak of Lebovna (of blessed memory) would at first travel to the holy R. Shlomo Karliner.
He was wealthy, but afterwards he lost his money.
He came to the rebbe’s father, the Moharam, and he stood there greatly troubled.
The Moharam asked him, “Why are you so troubled over the loss of money? We can interpret the verse, ‘I will demand your blood for your life from the hand of every living thing’ to mean, ‘So that you may demand of God and pray on behalf of Jewish souls, God will cause all living creatures to bring you your money.”
The writer states: It is known that afterwards many people traveled to the holy R. Yitzchak of Lebovna, and he made a respectable income.
4. The Neschizer rebbe stated told that in Apta there was a rabbi, a great tzaddik before the holy Rayah was there.
This rabbi once stated that he promised bread and borsht without any toil and effort to all who learn Torah.
One person who was a clay digger heard this and believed it. He went home and climbed onto his large oven and sat and recited Psalms, and he did not want to go to his work.
His wife could not persuade him. He did not reveal his reasons to her, and she thought that he had gone mad, heaven forbid.
In he meantime, in order to earn something for the day’s expenses, she sent another man with her husband’s wagon to dig clay, as his partner. And as this man dug, he found a treasure of money and put it on the wagon. But before he got ready to set off with the wagon, the horse ran off with the wagon to the house of its owner, and they discovered the blanket covering the wagon, and saw the treasure. They divided it in half with the digger, and he was very wealthy for the rest of his life.
5. The writer states: I heard a very wondrous thing from a person whom I find to be trustworthy. And I will write it in brief.
Once the Neschizer rebbe was in the city of Vladavke.
At night, he lay in bed, And a few people stood around him.
He told that in the city of Apta there had been a great tzaddik. And in his days there was a man who was learned, wise and handsome, and a merchant in the aristocratic courts.
One time he went to do business in a certain court, and the woman in charge, who was unmarried, she controlled the city of Apta. She gained control of the merchant, heaven have mercy, until in the end he converted, heaven have mercy, and he married the woman. He was very harsh to the people of the city, and he would always state that he wished to return to his religion, [which would incense the anti-Semites]. And in this way he caused many problems for a number of people.
One night as the rabbi was sitting and learning for a few hours, this merchant came and knocked at his door. The rabbi opened it for him, and the merchant told him, “Rabbi, I want to repent.” But the rabbi expelled him because he was afraid of being arrested and falsely charged.
And this happened a few nights.
One time the rabbi grew angry at the merchant when he came to him at night. He raised his stick and said to him, “Go out, or I will beat you with my stick.”
He thrust the stick into the ground and he declared, “Just as this stick will never blossom and give fruit, so will you never repent!” And the merchant left in despair.
The rabbi returned to his learning. But he turned and saw something amazing: for the stick had blossomed and produced fruit. He was astonished, and so with the power of his thought he drew the merchant back to him. And so the merchant came, and the rabbi told him what had happened, and he taught him how to repent.
The merchant sighed heavily and said that he has children with her, but the rabbi told him, “Act on your own behalf.”
So the merchant gathered much money from the property and fled. And as for the children, they died.
[Translator’s note: although this part of the story seems heartless, it may be more acceptable when we consider the highly-polarized, anti-Semitic nature of the environment of those days.]
The Neschizer rebbe concluded by stating a few times that in earlier generations there were tzaddikim who could bring such things about. But now have we ever heard of such a thing? Yet he concluded, “But it is possible.”
Writer’s comment: That is to say, he is not sure, and perhaps today someone could do such a thing.
He said that a few times.
And in the morning the news went about of a local person who fled such a
situation. As for the end of that story, we do not know it, for nothing more has been heard of that man to this day.
from Zichron Tov
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