The second day of Shavuos is the yahrtzeit of the ger tzedek of Vilna, Reb Avraham ben Avraham zt’l, who was killed al kiddush Hashem. He was the son of Count Pototski, who was renowned for his immense wealth. When his son became a ger, it was an embarrassment to the church. Reb Avraham ben Avraham was arrested and murdered al kiddush Hashem, hy"d.
Becoming a Jew meant forgoing his father's vast wealth. Someone once asked him why he did this. How could he forfeit so much wealth? He answered, "Friday night, when the Shabbos oil lamps go out, they give off a scent. That smell is more enjoyable than all the wealth I had previously enjoyed."
The ger tzedek knew who reported him to the government (which ultimately led to his death), but he said he wouldn't take revenge. The ger tzedek added, "In this world, I didn't take revenge. Do you think that I will take revenge in the next world?"
He explained with a parable: A young prince was at the beach, building the image of a person in the sand. Someone came by and broke the sculpture. The prince cried to his father, complaining that someone had broken his artistic work. The king listened to his son but didn't do anything. The prince was surprised that his father was so calm and relaxed. To the prince's young mind, a terrible crime was done. He thought, 'When I grow up, I will take revenge on this person." And what happened when the prince became an adult and a king? He didn't take revenge because he realized it was nothing. "Similarly," Reb Avraham ben Avraham explained, "I'm not taking revenge in this world; do you think I'll take revenge in the next world?"
Reb Avraham ben Avraham was a student of the Vilna Gaon zt’l. The Vilna Gaon told him that he had the ability (using spiritual powers) to save him, but the ger tzedek replied that he preferred to die al kiddush Hashem.
Reb Alexander Zuskind zy'a, the author of Yesod Veshoresh HaAvodah, ventured out to the square where the pyre was prepared to burn the ger tzedek. He wanted to answer amen to the brachah the ger tzedek would say when being moser nefesh al kiddush Hashem. It was also mesirus nefesh for the Yesod v'Shoresh HaAvodah to be there because if someone saw him, they were liable to burn him at the stake as well, chalilah. The Vilna Gaon said that if ten people answered amen to the ger tzedek's brachah, the world would have reached its perfected state, and Moshiach would have come. Reb Shlomo Zalman Auerbach said that he heard ish mipi ish [from a direct source] from the Vilna Gaon zt’l that when the ger tzedek said this brachah, a fire came forth from beneath Ma'aras HaMachpeilah and burned up all kelipos. Had there been a minyan answering amen, the world would have reached its complete rectification.
May his merit protect us.
