One of the special people who supported the Branovitch Yeshiva was a man called R’ Cheikel. Besides assisting them with their needs, every morning, he would go to the local bakeries to get bread for the hungry yeshiva boys. As he approached the bakers, he had a special morning charm of singing for them while requesting their generous donations. When he had a substantial amount of bread, he’d return home with the collected bread, as his house doubled as the yeshiva’s dining room, and the boys would eat their breakfast.
After that was done, he’d then turn to the butchers and ask them for any leftover meat to sustain the yeshiva boys for their supper meal. For a long time, his efforts successfully kept the boys well nourished.
R’ Elchanan Wasserman had a great admiration for R’ Cheikel and for his dedication. One day, R’ Elchanan called him over and asked him if he had any request that he could fulfill in return for what he does on behalf of the yeshiva.
R’ Cheikel responded that he never intended that the Rosh Yeshiva would grant him something in return for his work. But, if he was offering, he had one request: “Once a week, I ask that your shiur be given to the bachurim in my house. I may not understand what you’ll be learning, but at least there should be learning in my home.”
This wasn’t so bizarre, since his home already served as the dining room for the older boys. Out of his hakaras ha’tov, R’ Elchanan approved his request and set up his weekly shiur in his home. R’ Cheikel diligently listened to R’ Elchanan’s shiur, though he didn’t understand any of it.
It was known throughout Branovitch that no bug could be found in R’ Cheikel’s dining room. Though there were plenty of bugs swarming around the adjacent rooms, they stood immobile at the entrance to his dining room. Many people from the town came to observe this miracle, amazed at how the bugs didn’t enter, despite the great amount of food that sat around.
When R’ Elchanan was asked to explain what was happening in the home of R’ Cheikel, all he said was that he hoped that in the Next World, they’ll give him an opportunity to gaze at the portion awaiting R’ Cheikel.
One time, R’ Bornstein was analyzing the scene. Looking on with him was Mr. Dreazen, a well-known apikores who sought to disprove Yiddishkeit. This Yid didn’t even come to shul on Yom Kippur, and here he was, trying to disprove the open miracle.
Mr. Dreazen told R’ Bornstein that the bugs not entering R’ Cheikel’s dining room isn’t proof of anything. “Look here,” he said, and he took several bugs in his hand to try and bring them into the dining room. Yet, despite his brazenness, the bugs miraculously wouldn’t go in. With all his force, he was unable to get them to go in. Several times he tried to disprove the miracle, but to no avail. The bugs just wouldn’t go into the yeshiva’s dining room.
A few days passed, and the news hit the yeshiva that Mr. Dreazen had returned to Yiddishkeit and was now becoming observant. Mr. Dreazen explained that when he saw what Hashem was doing for R’ Chaikel despite his limited knowledge in learning, he understood that great power lies in learning. And although he wasn’t the greatest talmid chacham, nevertheless, he was doing the best with whatever capacity Hashem had given him. That gave him the courage to start a fresh commitment to serving Hashem. (Simchah Babyis, p. 700)
