There was a man who lived in Yerushalaim named R’ Mordechai Leib Hakohen Kaminsky zt”l. R’ Mordechai Leib lived a long life, passing away at the ripe old age of 93. When asked how he merited arichas yamim, he would relate:
When he was a young man, the Chofetz Chaim began printing his Sefer Mishnah Berurah. After the printing of each volume, he would travel from city to city to sell it. He personally went from bais medrash to bais medrash selling his sefer.
When the Chofetz Chaim came to R’ Mordechai Leib’s town, he asked how much the sefer costs and he purchased a copy. A few years later, the Chofetz Chaim returned to town with the next volume of Mishnah Berurah. When R’ Mordechai Leib asked to purchase one, the Chofetz Chaim asked him his name. He answered, “My name is Mordechai Leib Hakohen.”
The Chofetz Chaim took out his ledger in which he kept track of all his sales and showed him that he had written down that “Mordechai Leib Hakohen” owed him money for the first volume. R’ Mordechai Leib said that he clearly remembered paying for that volume of the sefer. The Chofetz Chaim didn’t argue and said, “If you say you paid, I fully believe you. I must have made a mistake.”
The Chofetz Chaim then continued to the next town. When he went into the bais medrash, a man came over to him and said, “My name is Mordechai Leib Hakohen. I still owe you money from when I took the first volume of your sefer.”
The Chofetz Chaim realized that he had been choshed b’ksheirim. He had mistakenly told the other Mordechai Leib Hakohen that he had not paid, and this caused him a lot of distress. He decided to go back to see him in order to apologize.
He found R’ Mordechai Leib Kaminsky’s house and asked him mechilah for wrongly suspecting him. Of course, R’ Mordechai Leib said that there was no need to apologize as he never felt any ill will towards him. He said that he forgave him with a full heart.
The Chofetz Chaim then told him, “Chazal say (Brachos 31B) that if one wrongly suspects his friend, he must give him a bracha. What blessing can I give you?”
R’ Mordechai Leib replied that he did not need anything. The Chofetz Chaim then said, “Perhaps you want a blessing for a long life?”
R’ Mordechai Leib responded, “What good is that? When a person gets old, his body and mind get weak.”
The Chifetz Chaim said, “I am a Kohen. I have the power to bless you and I give you a bracha that you should live long and always have good health and a clear mind.”
This bracha was fulfilled and R’ Mordechai Leib lived until an old age without any health problems and with a lucid mind.
