The Chofetz Chaim told the following amazing story. In Vilna, there lived a wealthy man, who suddenly began to be hounded by a local poor person. It got so bad that the rich individual dragged his antagonist to a Din Torah by Reb Chaim Volozhin.
Reb Chaim immediately realized that a Dybbuk (a malicious possessing spirit) had entered the body of the poor person, and his intent was to bother the rich man. Reb Chaim asked the Dybbuk who he was, what sin had he done to cause his soul to wander, and why was he out to get the rich man.
The Private Teacher for the Rich Man’s Father
The Dybbuk answered, “I was a private teacher for this rich man’s father, tutoring him and his brother. One day, his father did a deal with a non-Jew and swindled 20,000 rubles from him. I signed on the deal and got a cut. Since I died, I have no peace because of this. Therefore, I decided to enter this man’s body, and pester the son of my former boss, until he will pay back the stolen money.”
Upon hearing this, the rich man jumped up and angrily cried out, “You scoundrel! As if your only sin was that you partnered with my father to rob a non-Jew?! I remember that you were barely religious and that you sinned constantly with impudence.”
The Dybbuk answered, “True. When you knew me, I was a real rasha (wicked person), but at the end of my life, I became a ba’al teshuva, repented for all my sins, and learned Torah every day for four hours…never missing a day. When I went up to Heaven, my teshuva was accepted and the Torah that I had learned saved me. All was forgiven, except for the money that I had stolen. That will not be wiped clean until the money is returned!”