Rav Aryeh Leibush Halberstam studied in the kloiz of Chachmei Brode. He was known as a tzaddik who performed all the mitzvos with as many hiddurim as possible. There was once a stormy Sukkos and it was almost impossible to sleep in the sukkah as it had become flooded with water. Despite the inclement weather, Rav Aryeh Leibush’s desire to fulfill the mitzvah to sleep in the sukkah left him no peace.
However, he did not wish to sleep there alone so he tried to convince the [son of] the tailor to join him. The tailor refused based on the weather and Rav Aryeh Leibush proceeded to offer him money and gifts, but to no avail. Finally, Rav Aryeh Leibush offered to share with the tailor half of his own olam haba for sleeping with him in the sukkah-- so strong was his desire to fulfill the mitzvah of Sukkos b’shleimus. The tailor agreed, and so it was.
Many years later, after Rav Aryeh Leibush passed on, the tailor was lying on his sickbed. His life began to ebb away and he had a vision in which he saw Rav Aryeh Leibush coming towards him: “Do you remember my promise to you all those years ago in the sukkah when you slept there together with me?” Rav Aryeh Leibush asked the dying tailor. The tailor had indeed, forgotten the incident. Rav Aryeh Leibush jogged his memory until the promise of that long ago Sukkos came back to him.
“Here I have come now to take you back with me to sit beside me in my supernal chamber. You will receive half my reward. Unless you wish to exchange it for more life here in this world.”
The tailor was a simple person and he readily agreed to live longer in exchange for the spiritual reward. The moment he made the decision, his fever broke, and he was healed. Afterwards, he regretted his hasty decision to forgo the spiritual reward. He decided to travel to Sanz to the Divrei Chaim, Rav Aryeh Leibush’s son and successor. He handed the tzaddik a kvitel and complained about the grave mistake he made. The Divrei Chaim could only smile compassionately. It was too late to go back and change things now. (Sources: Tzvi Tifara Maasay Rav p. 163, Shefa Chaim Yerach Eysanim Vol 2 p. 193, Mekor Chaim 324).
