A Distant Relation

Rav Elimelech Biderman shared the following story: There was once a Jew who desperately needed a yeshuah, salvation for some personal matter and so as was customary he wrote down his name and his request on a slip of paper known as a kvitel and approached the reknowned tzaddik the holy Chozeh or Seer of Lublin. However, when he entered the rebbe’s inner sanctum and placed the kvitel before the tzaddik and petitioned him for salvation to answer his request, the tzaddik remained silent. The Jew understood that his salvation must be far and distant and difficult to achieve, therefore he tried his luck another way, he reminded the Chozeh that they were related, Rebbe please help one of your own flesh and blood! He pleaded. The truth was that they were related through being second and third cousins through their shared grandparents and so the Chozeh answered back “Nu it’s a distant relation.” And left the matter settled. The Jew turned away sadly and left. Just then the Chozeh’s disciple the holy Rav Naphtali of Ropshitz saw the Jew walk out so despondent and with his face so down, he approached him asking the matter. The Jew spilled out all his woes concluding with the story of his failed reminder of his and the rebbe’s family ties. Smiling Rav Naphtali said to the Jew, “Don’t worry I know just the thing, soon the rebbe will go an daven mincha, while he is in the midst of the afternoon prayers when he recites the first blessing of the silent amidah he will say the words “G-d of our forefathers, G-d of Avraham, G-d of Yitzchok and G-d of Yaakov,” listen in and seize the moment, as soon as the rebbe says that, whisper back at him his own words of retort, “Nu its just a distant relation!” Surely that will work!” said the Ropshitzer. The Jew did what he was told and as the tzaddik davened when he reached the place in the prayers where we remind Hashem of our zechus avos and we mention our forefather the patriarchs the Jew whispered to the rebbe “Nu its just a distant relation!” After the prayers the Chozeh approached the Jew and delighted him by saying, “you have succeeded and you have achieved the salvation, let me just ask you one thing, tell me, if this wasn’t one of Naphtali’s tricks?!”