A certain merchant who was a Chassid of Rabbi Aharon-Leib of Premishlan had occasion to pass through Lyzhansk in the course of business. It would be a pity, he thought, to be so far from home and not utilize this opportunity to visit one of the towering figures of the generation, Rebbe Elimelech of Lyzhinsk. In order to be able to do this in a clear and focused frame of mind, he first settled his various business affairs in the district, and arranged to be back in town for Shabbat.
On Friday morning, after immersing himself in the mikveh, he went to greet the Rebbe.
Rebbe Elimelech welcomed him, and said: "Are you not one of the chasidim of Rabbi Aharon Leib of Premishlan? Tell me, why is your Rebbe so conceited?" And, Rebbe Elimelech repeated the phrase in the hearing of all those who happened to be present: "So conceited! So conceited!" And not only then, but again and again at each of the Shabbat meals - until the merchant's joy at the privilege of meeting the exalted tzadik turned to distress.
Woe is Me!
Nor did his departure from Lyzhinsk lighten his burden, for when he came to Rebbe Elimelech to receive his parting blessings, he was told: "When you come home, please tell your Rebbe in my name he should not be so conceited."
His arrival home threw him into a quandary. Rabbi Aharon Leib was certain to ask him, as he always did whenever his chassidim came home from a journey, whether he had anything of interest to report. He would have to say he met Rebbe Elimelech. Rabbi Aharon Leib would then ask whether he had seen or heard anything noteworthy or quotable. He would then have to say... But how could he bring himself to mouth such words? At length, realizing there was no way out of fulfilling the explicit instruction of Rebbe Elimelech, he spoke to his Rebbe and withheld nothing.
"Woe is me!" said Rabbi Aharon Leib. "Who knows how I sinned in the sight of G-d, and what blemish the tzadik has discerned in me? Indeed, I am in such a sorry state that I do not even sense what my sin is, and therefore do not even know how to go about repenting!"
Calling in his wife, he said: "The tzadik of Lyzhinsk sees that I am a sinner. I must journey there at once to find out from him in what way I have transgressed, otherwise I will not know how to repent. But the road to Lyzhinsk is a long, long road, and even when I finally arrive there I know I will no longer have the strength to look after myself."
The Journey
The Rebbetzin assured him she would share the rigors of the journey and see to his needs. They hired a wagon, trundled along for six days, and arrived at Lyzhinsk just in time for Shabbat. A sinner such as himself, thought Rabbi Aharon Leib, would certainly not be granted admission to the Friday night table of the tzadik, so he asked his wife to go out to the market place to buy a bottle of wine and two loaves of challah, while he went to find the mikveh so he could immerse himself in honor of the holy day.
Entering the Rebbe's house, he found himself among hundreds of chassidim who were also waiting to receive his greeting of Shalom. He made his way through the crowd and extended his hand to receive the Rebbe's handshake, being careful to keep his head bowed so the tzadik should not see his face.
Rebbe Elimelech, however, sensed this was Rabbi Aharon Leib, and wanted to call him back, but the guest had already hurried off to his lodging place. From there he went to a nearby shul for evening prayers, then back to his little room to sing Shalom Aleichem. At the same time, Rebbe Elimelech asked his attendant and his chassidim to search through the town until they found the guest from Premishlan. When they returned without having found him, Rebbe Elimelech stood up and protested: "A guest of the stature of Rabbi Aharon Leib is here with us in town; will I not have him at my table for Shabbat?!"
The Search
He again gave the order that his chassidim were to search through the whole of Lyzhinsk, from house to house, room by room, until they found Rabbi Aharon Leib, and to inform him that he himself would not sit down to conduct his Friday night tish ('table' open to the public after they first finish their own meal) until his guest joined him there.
Again they set out and searched until they found him at his lodgings in the low roofed cottage of a penniless teacher on the outskirts of town. They gave him the message and brought him to the Rebbe's table, where Rebbe Elimelech expressed his delight at his arrival by giving him a seat of honor by his side.
Surprisingly, though, several times in the course of the meal he said: "Who would believe that Rabbi Aharon Leib should be so conceited!" And, as before, not once, but at every one of the Shabbat meals he repeated this comment in public. When Shabbat was over Rabbi Aharon Leib called on the Rebbe in order to take his leave - but first to find out just what was the conceit that he had perceived.
"Why, is there any conceit greater than this?" answered Rebbe Elimelech. "On many occasions Eliyahu the Prophet has come to me with the complaint that you do not want to learn Torah from his mouth. He, the Prophet Eliyahu, wanted to teach you Torah, and you refuse! Think how many tzadikim have longed and yearned for this privilege - and you decline the offer! In any case, I promised Eliyahu that I would try to persuade you to change your mind."
"I apologize that even after your persuasion," answered Rabbi Aharon Leib, "I cannot agree." "Why so?" asked his host. "Because my desire," said the guest, "is to do my own hard work in the study of the Torah. For how does King David express it? 'When you eat of the labor of your hands, happy shall you be, and it shall be well with you.' And the same lesson we learn in the Talmud: 'The Torah truly becomes the possession only of him who gives his very life in the effort of its study.' For this reason I have not been taught by him, nor will I. I will pray to the Almighty that He give me the strength to toil always in the study of his Torah."
The tzadik gave him his blessing, and Rabbi Aharon Leib made his way back to Premishlan, where he continued to serve his Maker by an honest day's labor, day by day.
Modified and supplemented by Rabbi Yerachmiel Tilles from Sipurei Chasidim. Rabbi Tilles of Tsfat is co-founder of ASCENT. His email list for stories is in its 28th year. To join the list a/o his WhatsApp group for Saturday night Audio, Video and Zoom stories, go to AscentOfSafed.com or WhatsApp +972-526-770-137.
