Rabbi Dov Ber, the Maggid of Mezeritch, sat with his young pupil.
"Mendel, how many pages of Talmud did you learn today?"
The boy couldn't suppress the smile which played across his features as he replied, "Three pages, Rebbe."
But, contrary to what one would have thought, the Maggid was far from pleased. The boy was an excellent student and showed great potential, but he was too arrogant about his abilities.
"Hmm," he said, "If your hat slants at such a cocky angle from only three pages of Talmud, I wonder how many it would take for your hat to fall off completely!" The Rebbe's sharp words brought the boy down from his high spirits and he began to look into himself. He realized that he had better change his outlook. He went to his Rebbe and asked,
"Rebbe, please, give me your advice; I know my pride is wrong, but I don't know how I should feel." The Maggid was pleased to see the sensitivity of his pupil.
"I will go with you to the Baal Shem Tov, and he will explain the proper path."
The following week the two set off for the Baal Shem Tov.
The Maggid made a special request of Mendel: "I want you to pay particular attention to the Rebbe's words at every discourse during Shabbat, for when he speaks, I am too overcome with awe to concentrate properly on his words."
They arrived shortly before Shabbat, and the Maggid went directly to the Baal Shem Tov. Mendel remained in his room combing his hair and dressing, as he was always very particular about his appearance. The Besht stood at the bima ready to begin his prayers, but he waited until Mendel entered.
That was the last notice the Besht seemed to take of Mendel throughout Shabbat, until, when Shabbat had departed and the Besht was relaxing, he called Mendel.
"Shalom Aleichem," he said to the boy. "I want to tell you a story." The Baal Shem Tov proceeded to describe Mendel's life from beginning until the end.
The Baal Shem Tov turned to the Maggid. "Don't worry about the boy; he is a truly humble person, and he'll turn out well," he said. Mendel grew up to be a great and renowned Rebbe, Menachem Mendel of Vitebsk.
The story the Besht told him stayed in Reb Mendel's mind all his life. Once, many years later, when Reb Mendel he was critically ill his disciples stood around his bed, weeping and praying for his recovery. Their loud weeping brought Reb Mendel to consciousness and he said to them, "Don't worry. I remember from the story the Besht told me when I was a child, that I must still travel to the Land of Israel. Therefore, I know I will recover and live longer."
That, did, in fact, come to pass, and Reb Mendel traveled to Israel. On his way, he stopped in the town of Polnoye to visit the Toldos, Rabbi Yaakov Yosef.
To the surprise of everyone there, Reb Yaakov Yosef showed no displeasure about Reb Mendel 's clothing and appearance.
The older rabbi greeted his younger colleague with great warmth and affection, and they spoke at length about their meeting so many years ago at the court of the Baal Shem Tov.
"Did you understand the story he told you?" asked the Toldos. "Yes, I understood it," replied Reb Mendel. "Tell me, how far along are you now?" "I am more than half-way through it," Reb Mendel replied. "Did you understand that the story contained a hint that you were going to come here to visit me?" "Of course. That is the reason I travelled through Polnoye."
As the two sat and reminisced for a long time, their respect for each other was obvious to all who saw them. Then, the Toldos accompanied Reb Mendel all the way back to his hotel where they parted.
The Chasidim were curious, for the Toldos had acted very much out of character. Usually, he was very particular about the attire of a person who came into his presence. But, in the case of Reb Mendel, he seemed not to take any notice at all.
"You seem surprised that I didn't mind Reb Mendel's appearance -- no belt and the silver shoelaces... it's not that I didn't notice these things, but I will explain by way of a parable:
"Once a king possessed a pearl which was worth fortunes. He was afraid it might be stolen, and so, he hid it in the bathroom -- a most unlikely place to look for valuables.
"This same thing could be said about Reb Mendel. He is such a truly humble man that he is afraid that no matter how he attires himself his humility will be an attraction for the Evil Inclination. Therefore, he dresses in the most unlikely of all clothing, that of pride."
