Harav Shimshon Lerner of Kiryat Vizhnitz related:
I will never forget this incident. Before the Imrei Chaim lit the Chanukah lecht, I saw Reb Shmuel Daskal go over to Reb Yaakov Dovid Vizhnitzer, the executive director of the mosdos in Vizhnitz, and ask, “How much do you need for salaries this month? I want to take care of it.”
At first Reb Yaakov Dovid demurred and didn’t want to tell him the amount. But Reb Shmuel insisted, “I’m begging you — please tell me what the expenditures for the Vizhnitz institutions are for this month!”
Reb Yaakov Dovid did not want to respond. Again, Reb Shmuel persisted and pleaded, like a poor man begging for a donation from a wealthy man, until Reb Yaakov Dovid finally relented and told Reb Shmuel the sum.
On the spot, Reb Shmuel pulled out a check and wrote it out for the entire amount that would cover the salaries for that month. That was his preparation for the Rebbe’s lighting of the Chanukah lecht.
