Story of the week (By Yehuda Z. Klitnick)
Rabbi Meir Hagadol of Primishlan, the grandfather of the famous Rabbi Meir Hagadol of Primishlan, mastered the faith and trust in Hashem. He sold odd goods to provide a small income for his family. Rabbi Meir spent the rest of his time sitting in the Shul, studying Torah, and serving Hashem. Once the Holy Baal Shem Tov came to visit the city of Primishlan and he learned Torah, Chassidus, and Kabbalah with Rabbi Meir who became very elevated by this. He thanked the Baal Shem Tov for his valuable insights and they bid each other farewell.
Rabbi Meir became electrified by this new path of learning that he decided he would immerse himself into this study and the words of King David in Tehilim 84:13 came to his mind: K ̈a ©g ¥h a m ̈c ̈` i ¥x §y ©` O LORD of hosts, happy is the man who trusts in You. Then he thought that the first letters ``aa of the Posuk Bereishis ` ̈x ̈a zi ¦y` ¥x §a z ¥` mi ¦w l ¡` matched this verse. He understood that Hashem feeds all creatures, and it shows that the obligation of putting trust and faith in Hashem is planted at the beginning of the Torah. This strengthened Rabbi Meir spiritually and concluded that since Hashem is the source that feeds all creatures and a person should not only make nice sermons but also fulfill what he preached, he decided that he would sit down and immerse himself in learning the holy Torah and worship Hashem. He would have strong faith and trust in the Creator of the universe that he would send him everything he needed. Rabbi Meir was at that high level and he meant it.
He discussed it with his wife, who knew that her husband would not take a step unless he was at that level. She agreed. Rabbi Meir told her that she should expect all beginnings to be difficult, but it is only difficult in the beginning. When Hashem sees that one means it with truth and that his temptations are not to enjoy the materialistic world but the spiritual world, he will soon send enough money to continue learning and serving him with fervor.
Her husband was very righteous and she agreed to accept it. At first, it was a challenge to feed the family. She decided that in the near future she would pawn off the large amount of silverware that was in the house. She was confident that she would be able to retrieve it. However, salvation still didn’t come and this continued on for a long while. One day she realized that all the silverware had been pawned off and she had to buy some food to feed her children. She was tempted to go and ask her husband to help, but her inner feelings told her not to disturb her husband. She decided to sell the furniture and anything she could spare to sell to bring food to the children. She did not interfere with the holy work of her husband. She searched around to find what she could sell, but she could not find anything.
The children were crying from hunger, so she decided she had to go to her husband and explain the situation to him. Rabbi Meir was moved by this and went into a deep trance and meditated for a long time. His wife understood that her husband was concocting something in heaven and was confident that salvation was coming. When her husband woke up from the trance he stated that Hashem answered our prayers and that salvation would come soon. She left calmly putting her faith in Him who can change everything in a second.
That very morning, a gentile farmer appeared in the city of Primishlan, who had a large barrel on his shoulder and was looking to meet Rabbi Meir. He was told that "Meir Safravdlivi" was no longer in business, but he did not care about what they told him. He said that he only wanted to deal with him. The merchants of the city asked him what he had to sell, and they offered the farmer that they would pay a better price than Rabbi Meir. However, the farmer did not want to hear anything, and said he would only sell to Rabbi Meir. He was sent to Rabbi Meir's house, and his wife informed him that her husband was not home, but she could help him. The farmer told her that he had a barrel of the best quality honey and that he would give it to her at a very good price so that her husband could make a nice profit. I heard about your husband and how honest he is. She said she would ask her husband what to do.
Her husband heard and began to think, he said that it was a very good deal. She should go to a certain wealthy man in the city and inform him of the transaction and that he should lend us the money. She should promise that the money will be returned to him very soon. She was glad and hoped that salvation was near.
She went to the home of the gentleman and told him of the honey barrel she could sell for a good profit. The gentleman gave her the money and she went home to inform the farmer that she had the money to pay. The farmer went to his wagon, lifted the heavy barrel, and placed the barrel in the middle of the house.
When Rabbi Meir returned home that night, he asked his wife where the honey was and she began to cry. He asked her what had happened. She replied that when she opened the barrel to check the quality of the honey, she noticed that there was only honey on top but under the honey there was a piece of wood that the farmer must have put stones on it to make it feel heavy. The farmer has ripped us off!
We still have to pay back the money we lent. She was so devastated that she cried to her husband that she could no longer continue like this! Rabbi Meir calmed her down and assured her that nothing bad came from Hashem. Then he asked her why the box was standing in the middle of the house where children could trip over it and get hurt. She replied that the person placed it there, but it was too heavy for her to move the box which was certain to be filled with stones.
Rabbi Meir told her that the first thing we needed to do was to move the box, so that we could dismantle it and sell the wood and stones and get some money out of it. Rabbi Meir said we must first empty the barrel of honey, then he went to get the tools to dismantle the barrel. He gently took off the piece of wood that was under the honey, and to his amazement, he saw that a small box was inside. This became a mystery to them. However, when Rabbi Meir pried open the small box he saw that the box was full of shiny gold coins. They became full of joy and thanked Hashem for his gift!
Rabbi Meir was able to study undisturbed, and his wife retrieved the silverware from the pawn shop. She was pleased that her husband would be able to reach a higher level in serving Hashem. The gold coins lasted for many years until Rabbi Meir became famous and people came to him for advice. Rebbe Meir was one of the first disciples of the Holy Baal Shem Tov and promoted the Torah and path of the Baal Shem Tov.
