saddened, so he immediately blessed them and said that Hashem should increase their numbers a thousand times “like them”. He was praising them and saying, “If only there were many more people like you!” This appeased them and brought them out of depression.
Good Thoughts:
A young man was once sitting alone in the Chozeh’s bais medrash. He was thinking about how his father-in-law had agreed to support him financially for a number of years, and the end of that support was coming soon. He did not want to spend his time engaged in business, so he was trying to find a position as a Rov or Dayan. He thought that if he couldn’t find such a position, he would be willing to become a Melamed for young children. If he couldn’t even find that type of job, he feared that he would have to go from door to door, begging for alms, and he wouldn’t have enough time to serve Hashem properly.
Suddenly, the door to the bais medrash opened, and the Chozeh walked in. He looked at the young man and screamed, “Stop worrying so much. A Yid must serve Hashem with calmness!”
The general rule is that if one thinks something bad is going to happen to him, it very well may happen, as is stated (Iyov 3:25): “What I dreaded in coming upon me.” This is also in accordance with famous statement of the Tzemach Tzedek zy”a: “Tracht gut vet zein gut.” If you think good thoughts, it will be good!
Fainting During “Ein K’Elokeinu”:
The Magid of Mezeritch zy”a had the custom of davening alone. When he reached the tefillah of Ein K’Elokeinu, a small minyan of 10 chasidim would enter his room.
When he was a young man, the Chozeh of Lublin once went into the room as part of this minyan. When the Magid said the words Ein K’Elokeinu, the Chozeh fainted. It took much effort to revive him.
When the Magid finished davening, he said to the chasidim, “I told you to bring someone else, not him. He saw the Heavenly host of angels that accompany Hashem, and that made him faint. Next time, bring a regular person who won’t see those things and won’t be scared!”
Seeing From a Distance:
Rav Yisroel of Lublin zt”l, the father of Rav Shmuel Heller zy”a, the Rov of Tzefas, once came to the Chozeh and bemoaned the fact that it had been a very long time since he had received any letters from his family in Eretz Yisroel.
The Chozeh told him, “Your wife is coming back from the market right now and she is bringing a lot of onions and cucumbers.”
He proceeded to relate exactly how many of each vegetable she was bringing.
He then said, “Your daughter is holding a cup of coffee right now.”
He concluded, “The reason I am telling you all this is to let you know that when you return to Eretz Yisroel, you should not think that I won’t see everything you do.”
Teshuva:
The Chozeh was accustomed to being Ma’aver Sedrah with a Sefer Torah every Friday. When he opened the sefer, he would declare, “Hashem tells a rasha: Why do you relate My laws (Tehillim 50:16). But I am going to do teshuva. Yes, I said the same thing last week, but today I really mean it.”
He would then begin being Ma’aver Sedrah.
Only for Hashem:
Rav Mordechai Chaim of Slonim zy”a related that a group of chasidim of the Lechovitcher Rebbe zy”a once spent Shabbos with the Chozeh of Lublin zy”a, and the Chozen saw that they weren’t as impressed with him as they were with their own Rebbe.
He turned to them and said, “What do you want from me? You want to experience Lechovitcher Shabbosim here? This year, the Lechovitcher Rebbe’s kabalas haTorah put to shame tzadikim who have been in Gan Eden for 150 years already!”
He then added, “But we also are focused solely on Hashem!”
The Misnagdim Fasted on the Day He Was Nifter:
There were people who opposed the Chozeh and went so far as to say that the day that he died would be established as a day of joy and feasting.
When the Chozeh heard this, he said, “I promise you that the day of my death will be commemorated by all as a day of mourning. Even my opponents will fast on the day.”
And so it was. He was nifter on Tisha B’Av.
May the tzadik’s memory be a blessing for all of Klal Yisroel.
