Weeks passed without any progress, and no solution seemed forthcoming. When the assimilated Jew saw the difficult problem, a spark of Jewish identity was ignited within. He thought to himself, “A Jew must be buried among Jews, not among Gentiles. One does not play games with the deceased!”
He decided to intervene and went with several of his friends to the local bishop. He pleaded with him, arguing that it was inappropriate for a Jew to remain buried among non-Jews and that the non-Jews themselves likely did not want a Jew in their cemetery. He reasoned that it would benefit all parties to transfer the deceased to the Jewish cemetery.
The man spoke to the bishop in his own manner, as a peer among peers. After much persuasion, the cleric relented and gave his consent. The man immediately took charge of transferring the deceased and ensured he was buried with proper respect in the Jewish cemetery, among his fellow Jews.
Afterward, thoughts began to stir in the man’s heart: What would become of him after his own allotted years? Surely the chevrah kaddisha would not allow him to be buried among Jews, considering how estranged he had been from them and the suffering he had caused them throughout his life.
This concern brought him to the court of the Rebbe of Horonsteipel, where he came to request that, after his death, he be allowed to be buried in the Jewish cemetery, just as he had worked to ensure a Jew’s burial among his people. He argued that, after all, he was a Jew by birth, and it was not fitting for a Jew to be buried among Gentiles.
When the Rebbe heard his request, he pondered for a moment and then said, “If you wish for your Jewish brethren to consent to your burial among them, it would be appropriate for you to begin wearing at least a tallis katan. Even though all your other clothing makes you appear like a complete non-Jew, when Jews see that you are at least wearing tzitzis, they will recognize that you are indeed one of them. In that case, I can intercede with the chevrah kaddisha on your behalf.”
The man heeded the Rebbe’s wise advice and began wearing a kosher and beautiful tallis katan provided by the devoted attendants of the Rebbe.
Not long after, the man was seen attending shul on Shabbos. Over time, he began coming on weekdays as well. Eventually, he returned to the Rebbe and asked to repent fully for all his sins and transgressions.
The Rebbe received him warmly and guided him on the proper path of repentance. Soon, the man abandoned his previous life of vanity, joined those in the Beis Midrash Hagadol, became a complete baal teshuvah, and merited to establish upright and blessed generations. Naturally, in his later years, he was buried with honor in the proper place among his people.
It was only then that everyone realized the depth of the Rebbe’s wisdom. He had initially asked the man to begin with the seemingly simple mitzvah of tzitzis alone. But the nature of mitzvos is such that one leads to another, as Chazal taught (Avos 4:2), “One mitzvah leads to another mitzvah.” Thus, from observing this “light mitzvah,” the man was drawn closer, climbing step by step, until his heart was transformed, and he became a complete penitent.
This illustrates the power of “light mitzvos that a person tramples underfoot.” Although they may seem insignificant, their merit is capable of bringing even an assimilated Jew back to Hashem with love.
