In the city of Vitebsk, Russia, lived Reb Gavriel, a chossid of the Alter Rebbe of Lubavitch, the Baal HaTanya. This was not long after had he become Rebbe. Those days the conflict of the misnagdim and chassidim was fierce, and this made the lives of chassidim miserable. Reb Gavriel’s father and brothers were staunch misnagdim, and were agitated with Reb Gavriel being a chossid. They planned secretly to destroy Reb Gavriel’s business, and as a result, he struggled to make ends meet.
Reb Gavriel remained a strong chossid, and he continued traveling to his Rebbe, in Liozna. Reb Gavriel never complained to the Rebbe about his troubles, or that his business was sour because of the persecution he got from his family. He still struggled to pay the Rebbe monthly stipend, called Maamados. The Alter Rebbe was always busy with Pidyon Shvuyim, to pay to goyim to free captured Yidden from prison. The Rebbe required from his chassidim to give large amounts of money towards this Mitzvah, and Reb Gavriel managed to put together the money.
Reb Gavriel was already married twenty five years, and had no children, but a Chossid never complains to a Rebbe about personal things. “We need a Rebbe for Ruchniyus, spirituality, not for our private lives,” was the saying of Reb Gavriel. Once when he was in Liozna, the Rebbe needed an immense sum of money, and he asked Reb Gavriel to donate a large part of it. Reb Gavriel did not argue, even though he knew that he couldn’t afford so much money at that time. Reb Gavriel traveled home, trying to think of a way to raise that amount. When he arrived home he told his wife that the Rebbe had asked him to donate a sum of money he didn’t have, and he let out a sigh of pain. “Why do you groan?” asked his wife. “Usually, when you come home from the Rebbe you are full of simcha.”
“I never wanted to cause you any pain,” answered Reb Gavriel. “I never told you about the difficult persecution I get from my family. Nor have I told you that our income has been severely reduced because of it. I simply don’t have the money to pay for what the Rebbe asked of me.”
His wife said to him, “you have always told me about all the inspiration that the Rebbe gives you, and we hear the Rebbe talk about emunah and bitachon, and that we must always have Simcha. Has Hashem somehow lost the ability to help you get what the Rebbe asked for?”
A few hours later, Reb Gavriel’s wife returned with a kerchief, holding all the money the Rebbe had asked for. She advised him to leave immediately for Liozna and personally give the money to the Rebbe.
Reb Gavriel said to her, “The Rebbe generally sends a Shaliach to collect the money he asks for. Let’s just wait for the.” So they decided to waited with the money. It took only a few days, though, until Reb Gavriel’s brother caused him another loss in his business. Now Reb Gavriel was afraid that he would be unable to withstand the latest test, and felt he should bring the money to the Rebbe instantly. After all, his wife had advised him to bring the money to the Rebbe immediately. For that matter, his family might find out about the money, and take it away from him. Instantly, Reb Gavriel dropped everything he was doing, grabbed the money his wife had given him, and traveled to Liozna.
As soon as he arrived in Liozna, he went to see the Rebbe, and he put the money on the Rebbe’s desk. The Rebbe told Reb Gavriel to untie the kerchief and spread the money on his desk. The Rebbe saw that the rubles lying there glowed and shone as though they held a hidden fire. They looked so new!
The Rebbe sank his head into his heilige hands, and thought. After a few moments, he lifted his head up and said, “When they made Mishkan, the people brought gifts of gold, silver, and copper. The most beloved of all the donations, was a donation that shone and glowed, and were used for the Kior, where the Kohanim washed their hands before doing their Avodah!
The Rebbe asked Reb Gavriel, where did the money come from?” Reb Gavriel began to tell everything that had happened to him in the previous ten years. How his family had persecuted him, and caused his to lose a lot of money And when the Rebbe asked him to bring him a large amount of money for Pidyon Shvuyim, he told his wife about his terrible situation. His wife, the righteous one, sold her jewelry without him knowing. She then brought him the full amount needed, and asked him to bring it to Liozna.
The Rebbe once again put his head on his hands, and went into a deep trance for a few minutes. When the Rebbe awoke, he said, “Hashem will give you sons and daughters, and long, blessed years. You will also merit to see grandchildren, and enjoy everything, as well as riches, and you will find favor with people.”
Reb Gavriel returned home and told his wife everything that had occurred with the Rebbe.and how the Rebbe had blessed him. “However,” said Reb Gavriel to his wife, “Tell me what the shine and the glow from the coins were?” His wife answered, “I took the coins, and cleaned each coin. While doing that, I prayed that through this mitzvah our mazel should shine.” Reb Gavriel closed his business, and began to deal in precious stones and diamonds. He immediately began to see hatzlacha in this new business. People liked him and his work, and princes favored him. Many of them became his loyal customers, and from day to day he became richer. A year later Reb Gavriel’s wife gave birth to a boy. Later, they had daughters and more sons. He worked in diamonds for forty years, growing richer by the day. All the brachos that his Rebbe had given him occurred. After forty years, he gave over his business to his children, and he sat down to learn all day. He merited with his wife to live a long healthy life.
