Heavy mourning enveloped the Jews of Rohtyn in Ukraine on the 10th of Iyar 1889, with the departure of their mentor and rabbi, the tzaddik Rabbi Uri Langer, the founder of the Rohtin Chassidism. The Chassidim followed his bed, weeping bitterly. For twenty-four years he bore the burden of leading the community with humility and modesty. He took the place of his father-in-law, Rabbi Avraham of Sartartin, and his manners were characterized by an attempt to conceal his greatness as best he could. Now he left the Chassidim to sigh, and they refused to be comforted.
Among the many escorts who participated in the funeral procession was a tailor, a resident of the city. This Jew did not belong to the Ruhatin Chassidim, but he wept uncontrollably, as if he were the Tzadik's most prominent disciple. He made short sighs and gasped incessantly, wiped away his tears, and burst into tears again. This behavior attracted the attention of the escorts. Many of them raised their eyebrows and wondered in their hearts what this meant. What does the simple tailor and the tzaddik Rabbi Uri have to do with the tailor, whose departure has caused so much sorrow for the tailor? After the funeral procession was over, some of the Rebbe's followers approached the tailor and asked to hear about his connection to the Rebbe. The man looked at them with tearful red eyes and said: "Now I am allowed to reveal the secret that has been hidden with me for eight years. No one but me has ever been exposed to a secret." The curiosity of the Chassidim increased. The tailor sighed slightly, and then opened and said:
You probably know that I am a tailor by profession—a seamstress of clothes at the request of the customers. One day, about eight years ago, I was called to the Rebbe's house. When I arrived, the Rebbe greeted me with a warm welcome and took me into his room. He locked the door so that no one could enter the room. "The tzaddik opened one of the drawers of his desk, took out a drawing from it and handed it to me. I looked at the painting and was amazed: it was a portrait of Tsar Alexander II, who was considered a clear hater of Israel. In the painting, the Tsar is seen in all his glory, dressed in his magnificent royal garments. Before I could digest what was happening, the Rebbe made his astonishing request: 'Can you sew such a royal garment for me?' "From the intensity of the surprise, the words were copied from my mouth, but I quickly came to my senses, nodded positively and informed the Rebbe that I was ready and willing to fulfill his request. A look of satisfaction crossed the Rebbe's face. He handed me the picture, and I went to work, took the necessary measurements, and made sure to sew expensive clothes just like the king's, as seen in the painting. "When I finished sewing the clothes, I brought them to the Rebbe's house. Again the Rebbe took me into his room, and to my astonishment he asked me to dress him in these clothes. The Rebbe entered with me from room to room, locked the door behind us, and stood in front of the mirror that was there. He asked me to look at the portrait of the Tsar, and asked me: 'Do the clothes you sewn for me really look like the Tsar's clothes?' "Yes," I replied to the Rebbe trembling. "Suddenly the Rebbe's face changed. They turned red like a flame, and at the sight of it I was filled with fear and anxiety. I trembled with my whole body from the spectacle, until I was afraid to stand on the four cubits of the holy Rebbe, who looked at the same time as when he was doing his holy service on the High Holy Days—all of which were covered with out-of-this-world holy tiles. "Suddenly the Rebbe took his stick in his hand and swung it sharply upwards, close to his face, until he looked back in the mirror. The Rebbe moved his hands vigorously, closed his eyes tightly, and when tears began to flow from them, he began to cry out with great devotion: 'Yes, all your enemies will perish!'" "At that moment," the tailor continued, telling the Hasidim tremblingly, "I didn't understand what was happening at all. What kind of conversation do I have with the Rebbe's heavenly affairs?... But even with my meager understanding, I realized that something sublime and sublime was going on here. The sanctity of the event and the Rebbe's crying swept me away as well, and I burst into tears. "A few moments later, the Rebbe finished the play, and it seemed that the great storm of emotions that had gripped him had subsided, and in its place a calm expression appeared on his face. He turned to me and ordered me not to reveal what had happened to any newborn woman. "A few days later," the tailor continued, "came the sensational rumor — a band of revolutionaries had assassinated the cruel Tsar. " I immediately made a connection between the miraculous event in the Rebbe's house, which I had witnessed, and the assassination of the Tsar, but of course I did not disobey the Rebbe's order and did not tell anyone about it. But now that the Rebbe has passed away, it seems to me that the time has come to tell his wonders. "Now you understand why I mourn the passing of this shepherd of Israel from among us? After all, this holy man of God saved all the people of Israel!"
The Chassidim were shocked to hear this. Some of the Rebbe's associates sought to verify the correctness of the tailor's words, and quickly went to the Rebbe's house. They searched his closets and suddenly found the royal garments just as the tailor had –of the Rebbe, the exact imitation of the Tsar's clothes described...
