One year during the lifetime of Rav Hirsch of Rimanov zy”a, summer came early and the country suffered from an extreme heatwave. This led to much of the crops in the fields to begin to shrivel up and die.
One day, a Jewish farmer came to the Rebbe and reported that all of his crops were going to waste. He asked, “Rebbe, please daven that it should rain so that I don’t lose my entire income for the year!”
The Rebbe replied, “The pasuk says that if you follow the ways of the Torah, Hashem will give you rain in its time.”
The farmer angrily responded, “I didn’t come here for a mussar shmuess! I don’t need to hear about Bechukosai! I need rain!”
The Rebbe trembled upon hearing these audacious words. He was worried that this could cause a prosecutorial decree to be issued again Klal Yisroel. He immediately locked himself in his room and refused to see anyone for several days.
During one of these days of seclusion, the Gabbai overheard several chasidim talking to each other as they waited outside the rebbe’s door for a chance to see him. They were discussing the pasuk (Shemos 16:4): “’Behold, I will rain down upon you bread from Heaven and the people shall go out and gather what is needed for the day, so that I can test them (l’maan anosanu), whether or not they will follow My teaching.” They translated the word “anasosanu” to mean “to raise up” (as in “haramas neis”, to raise a flag), and explained the pasuk to be saying that Hashem will send sustenance to Klal Yisroel in order to raise them up, “whether or not they will follow his teachings” – meaning that they will receive parnassah from Hashem whether Klal Yisroel keeps the Torah or not.
The Gabbai immediately gathered up the courage to enter the Rebbe’s room in order to tell him what he had heard. This calmed down the Rebbe and he said, “If that is true, then the farmer was right!”
He opened his door to the public and began to bless everyone. And, indeed, the rains began to fall and there was an abundance of parnassah for everyone.
