On a number of occasions, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak, the Previous Rebbe (known also as the Rebbe Rayatz) told about his three-month stay in Vienna in 5663 (1903) with his father and predecessor, Rabbi Sholom Dovber Schneersohn, known as the Rebbe Rashab, who required medical treatment.
The Rebbe Rashab's habit during that period was to take a brief rest on the couch after lunch. He didn't lie down exactly, but would sort of recline, with one leg up on the couch. Once, he remained for a considerable time in this position, much longer than usual.
The Rebbe Rayatz was afraid to wake up his father. But he was even more afraid to leave him be. He began to walk back and forth loudly, near the sofa, hoping his father would awaken. When that didn't work, he started moving the table around, making even more noise, but that didn't help either.
It wasn't until after nine straight hours that the Rebbe Rashab finally stirred. "What day is today?" he asked his son. "Which parsha [Torah reading] is it?"
The Rebbe Rayatz said that it was Wednesday and told him which parsha it was. The Rebbe Rashab then prayed the evening service at great length.
The next morning, the Rebbe Rashab asked his son if they had some money. Although they were quite low in funds, he said "yes" so as to not disappoint his father. Shortly thereafter, he pawned his silver cane, and gave the money to his father. The Rebbe Rashab announced that he would be going out and left.
Some time later, there was a knock on the door. A delivery boy asked if he was "Schneersohn." Upon confirmation, he handed him the box he was carrying. Over the next few hours, several more packages arrived, each from a different store. When the Rebbe Rayatz looked over the names of the firms on the boxes, he realized that they were all of stores specializing in women's and girls' apparel.
That evening, when the Rebbe Rashab returned, he told his son to prepare to travel, but he didn't tell him their destination.
The next day, the Rebbe Rayatz arranged a cab to the train station. Once there, the Rebbe Rashab told him to purchase tickets to Pressburg. When they arrived, they checked into a small inn.
In the morning, the Rebbe Rashab said, "We must pay a shiva call to the family of a pious Torah scholar who are in mourning." The Rebbe Rayatz started to look for a cab to take them into the city, but his father told him they would walk. He picked up the suitcase and they headed downtown.
On the street they encountered a yeshiva student who was in a big hurry. The Rebbe Rashab stopped him and asked for directions to the Bick home. The young man responded impatiently, "I don't have time. I'm in a rush to get back to the yeshiva. Just go straight and ask further on."
"Indeed," said the Rebbe Rashab. "Is that how you fulfill the mitzva of hospitality? Can't you tell that we are strangers here?"
The young man calmed down and apologized. He explained to them carefully how to go, and then added that the family was sitting shiva. Upon further questioning, it turned out that the head of the family had passed away during the hours of the Rebbe Rashab's unusual long rest on the sofa.
The Rebbe Rashab thanked the student and continued with his son down the street. When they reached the house they entered and saw a women with her three daughters, sitting shiva. After offering words of comfort to the widow and her daughters, the Rebbe Rashab suggested to his son that they go out for a while. They came upon a large yeshiva. The Rebbe Rashab engaged a few of the students in discussions about what they were learning. Among these was the young man who had given them directions. The Rebbe Rashab entered into a deep discussion with one of the students, and afterwards praised him highly.
Upon returning to the house, the Rebbe Rashab spoke again to the bereaved. When they asked him who he was, he told them that he was a distant relative.
Subsequently, the Rebbe Rashab guided the conversation to the subject of the girls' future. The mother bemoaned her difficult situation, especially now that her husband had died. She couldn't afford to buy clothes for her daughters, nor was she being approached with appropriate matches for them.
The Rebbe Rashab recommended the yeshiva student whose analytical abilities he had praised as a match for her eldest daughter, and for her second daughter he suggested the young man they had first met in the street. "Don't worry about trousseaus," he added. "I have everything they need."
Eventually, both these matches were successful. Before each engagement became official, the young bride-to-be received a parcel of clothing from the purchases of the Rebbe Rashab, and everything fit perfectly! The first wedding took place while the Rebbe was still in Vienna, the second a few months later.
About ten years later, the Rebbe Rayatz happened to be in the Pressburg area. He decided to look up the Bick daughters to see how things had worked out. He found the street but could not locate the house. There was now a large brick home where previously the cottage had stood.
A young woman came out and greeted him. She said she recognized him as having been present with his father at her sisters' engagements. She told him that she too was now married and happily so, thank G-d, but that both her sisters were much more fortunate. Her older brother-in law was the chief rabbi of a prominent city and the other was a rosh yeshiva. "I wish your father had arranged my match too!"
Compiled and retold by Yrachmiel Tilles as it appeared in Ascent magazine.
