Rav Yehoshua of Belz zy”a related that his father, the Sar Shalom of Belz zy”a, taught him a great lesson in emunah with the following story:
Once, he saw his father, the Sar Shalom, leaving his room, accompanied by a Jew who was dressed in simple clothes, and who looked like a beggar. His father escorted the man respectfully to the door of the house, where he said goodbye affectionately.
When his father returned to his room, he noticed him standing at the doorway. His father asked him, “Didn’t it seem strange to you that I accompanied this Jew who appears to be a very simple man, something I usually only do for very important guests?”
Rav Yehoshua replied, “It did seem strange to me, but I did not dare to ask the meaning of it. But now I admit that I am eager to understand.”
The Sar Shalom said, “You should know, my son, that this man is a tremendous scholar, well-versed in the entire Torah by heart, the Talmud Bavli and Yerushalmi, Tosefta, the Sifra and Sifri, and all Medrashim. He is also well-versed in the books of the Zohar and all the Sifrei Hayereim. Truly, he is worthy to be a Rov and Dayan in any of the large communities, such as Lemberg or Krakow. However, if Hashem doesn’t want it to be, it won’t be. Sadly, he has to go from door to door to beg for alms.”
The Sar Shalom stood still for a minute, lost in thought, and then said, “So what if he is or isn’t a Rov? But at least he could be a Dayan or Moreh Horaah is an important city! So, we have to come back to the same answer. If Hashem wants it to be, it will be. If He doesn’t want it to be, it won’t be! And Hashem doesn’t want it to be!”
After thinking a little more, he added, “Couldn’t he at least be a Magid Meisharim in some town? But Hashem doesn’t want this either! Couldn’t he at least be a teacher of children in some village so that he doesn’t have to beg from door to door? So, the answer remains the same. Hashem doesn’t want it to be!”
When Rav Yehoshua related this story, he added that it was hard for him to understand. His father supported many needy families. He especially made sure to help families of talmidei chochomim who spent their days immersed in learning. He had many “Yoshvim” who learned in his bais medrash all day and were supported by him. Since he knew how great of a Torah scholar this man was, why didn’t he support him? Why did he allow him to shame himself by begging for a living?
However, he realized that the answer must be the same one that his father kept repeating: If Hashem doesn’t want it to be, it can’t be! Obviously, Hashem didn’t want this either!
