The rebbe often attributed a yeshuah (salvation) to the power of emunah. This concept, rooted in the holy words of our prophets, is that he who believes with emunah has the power to create a keli (a vessel) that enables him to receive beracha. Faith draws down shefa (abundant blessing from on high as Yehoshaphat Hamelech said, and thereby succeed “Believe in His prophets, and you will prosper.” (Divrei haYamim II 20:20)
“What do you mean you don't have to do anything about it? Leibel said. This is the army; you can't just ignore a letter ordering you to report for active service! At the very least you need to apply for a deferral so they might push off the date, don't you think?”
But the Zutshka Rebbe's sefardi neighbor, Meir, just shrugged the whole thing off, “I already told you” he explained to the rebbe’s chassid something seemingly so simple “ the rebbe gave me the usual berachah that I get from him every day: that I should have only good tidings – besoros tovos. That’s what he said today as he says each day, even though the official letter was on his table.”
Meir stared at the chossid, incredulous: How can someone who calls himself a chossid not accept the rebbe's berachah with full faith? What would make him not take the rebbe’s holy words at face value? .
The matter soon became the gossip in the rebbe's shteibel..
The Zutshka rebbe had always told his family and gabbaim, that should they wish to serve him, he would let them lovingly do so with one condition: That his door always remain open. Helping him would mean that they never prevent anyone--any Jew--from accessing the rebbe. They needed to agree never to bar entry to anyone seeking an audience with him—no matter the circumstances. “Even if you have to wake me at night,” the rebbe pleaded, “what is my life for if not to bless and help Yiddin?”
Among those visitors was a kind sefardi neighbor who visited the rebbe every other day—a fact that displeased his family members and gabbaim. This was exacerbated by the fact that he came with a peculiar minhag of his own making. Each day, he would empty his mailbox, take the bundle of letters and place them in front of the rebbe's on the table . Then he asked that the tzaddik bless him that the mail should contain only good news. Day after day, the rebbe would give him a berachah that he should have only besoros tovos (good news) and today was no different. Having received the day’s beracha from the rebbe, Meir was unmoved that on this particular day, an official army missive had arrived that directed him to appear for duty--on erev Chag Pesach, no less. The order included that he was to serve for one full week, far away from his family.
“Do they think that I would leave my family to go spend the Seder night among tanks on some base?” Meir said laughing. “No sir, I am planning on spending the chagim with my family right here at home. I placed the letter on the tzaddik's desk along with the rest of the mail and he gave me his beracaha as he does every day. He said, ‘besoros tovos’ and that is what will be!”
The Zutshka rebbe’s family's heard about this conversation and told of it to the rebbe.. The rebbe’s smile widened with every added detail of the account which was told to him in slightly panicky tones. He learned who they were speaking about his confidence that the rebbe's berachah would keep him home. The Rebbe nodded his head and declared, “Peshita (obviously), this is exactly what shall be! ”
Another day or so passed and Meir arrived once again with a bundle of letters which he placed on the rebbe's table. The tzaddik lifted his head from the sefer he was studying and blessed him with the berachah that everything will go as it should, with good news and glad tidings. Little did Meir know that this bundle also contained an official letter from the army—this time with a dispensation.
In the same non-nonchalant manner that he described the contents of the first letter, he mentioned that he had received another official letter which contained an apology from the army that due to technical difficulties they had no choice but to postpone his active service until further notice. They were sorry, but he was deferred.
When the rebbe was told how the story concluded, he said, “That is why it is often so much easier to and be poel a yeshuah (achieve salvation) for those who have emunah peshuta (simple faith), since their emunah is tehorah (pure and refined). They don’t impede the process by making calculations and in that way, its so much easier to help them!”
