The Me’or Einayim was involved with the mitzvah of pidyon shevuyim. He would travel from place to place to collect money for this mitzvah. At one point, someone informed on him that he was bribing officials to let prisoners go free. He was arrested and placed in a prison in the city of Zhitomir.
Rav Wolf of Zhitomir zy”a (author of Ohr Hameir) received permission to care for the Rebbe in prison. Rav Wolf was once sitting with the Me’or Einayim in prison when a woman entered. She asked, “What does Rashi mean when he says that Avrohom was told to go ‘for his pleasure and his benefit.’ What pleasure and benefit could he derive from wandering around in exile?”
The Me’or Einayim remained silent, recognizing that the woman had an answer that she wanted to say.
She said, “The meaning of Rashi’s words is that Avrohom Avinu was a great machnis orchim. His home was open to all. It even had four doors, one in each direction, so that every guest should find a way in, no matter where he was coming from. Still and all, he had not yet reached a level of perfection in this mitzvah. Hashem told him to go into exile and said that it would be for his pleasure and benefit because it would allow him to feel the pain of someone who needs a place to stay and has no home. Once he knew what they felt like, he would be able to perform this mitzvah to perfection.”
She continued, “So too, the Rebbe is always busy with the mitzvah of pidyon shevuyim but because he had never been in jail, he couldn’t truly feel the pain of the imprisoned and he could not fulfill the mitzvah to perfection. That’s why Hashem caused him to be thrown into jail – so that he could understand exactly how a prisoner feels and fulfill the mitzvah perfectly.”
After the woman left, the Me’or Einayim told Rav Wolf, “That woman was Sarah Imeinu. She came to tell me why I was locked up in prison. Now that I know the reason, I can be released.”
And so it was. He was freed that day.