Dear Alumni Sheyichyu!
Sholom U’Brocho!
Mazel Tov to Rabbi & Mrs, Yochanan Gordon on the birth of their son. May they bring him up lTOveCHuMAA”T mitoch harchovo, and to be a true chayol! (If anyone is aware of any mazeltov’s that I omitted please let me know).
Thank you as always for the feedback, it is much appreciated.
R’ Simcha Bunim of Peshischa was one of the foremost Chassidic masters of his time. He was a talmid of the saintly Chozeh of Lublin, and he eventually became a Rebbe with many followers, amongst whom were many who themselves became gedolei Yisroel. Notable amongst them were the Kotzker Rebbe and the Chidushei Harim, the forerunners of the Gerer dynasty.
In his youth, R’ Simcha Bunim concealed his greatness, and made his livelihood by doing business. During this period in his life, R’ Simcha Bunim came in contact – through his business dealings - with numerous Jewish people who had become estranged from their religion, and he used the opportunities to return them to their roots, becoming instrumental in making many baalei Teshuva. Following is the story of one of them:
Once, R’ Simcha Bunim met a young Jew, who, sadly, had become far removed from Yiddishkeit. R’ Simcha Bunim recognized that this Jew possessed a very lofty neshomo, and was very eager to try to be mekarev him. R’ Simcha Bunim paid very close attention to the youth, seeking some means by which he would be able to influence him.
This particular youth had one very big interest – even obsession – he was an avid card player, and card games occupied the vast majority of both his time and his attention (this was long before gameboy and facebook and x-box, and the poor people had to spend their time with such old-fashioned pursuits as cards). Noticing this, R’ Simcha Bunim realized that his only path to the heart of this young man would be via his beloved card games.
Thus, it came to be that whenever this youth would be taking part in a game, R’ Simcha Bunim, who had the appearance of just another Jewish businessman, would be there joining in as well. In truth, the tzaddik had no clue about how the game is played, as he later admitted, but he got by, by observing what everyone else was doing and doing the same.
And, wonder of wonders, R’ Simcha Bunim would win every single game he participated in! When he related the story, many years later, he explained that, in fact, being completely ignorant about the rules of the game, he had no way of even knowing that he had won, but when, time after time, no one else moved to take the money from the middle, he understood that he had won it.
Very rapidly, R’ Simcha Bunim caught the attention of the young Jew. The youth was sure that the stranger who was always winning had some secret method of playing the game, and, cards being the most important thing for him in his life, he became desperate to learn this secret. Now it was the young man who was attaching himself to the tzaddik, following him around, and trying to figure out a way to gain his confidence. But whenever the youth questioned R’ Simcha Bunim about his secret, he brushed him off.
One day, R’ Simcha Bunim invited the young Jew to join him for a walk in the woods. The young man was certain that his new friend had finally decided to share his secret, and his excitement knew no bounds. They walked together in silence for some time, when suddenly R’ Simcha Bunim turned to his companion and screamed emotionally:
"שאו מרום עיניכם וראו מי ברא אלה!!!"
Startled, the young man looked at him uncomprehendingly. Then, finally, the tzaddik told him the truth; - that he had no knowledge about, nor interest in card playing at all, and that his only agenda was the rescuing of a lost Jewish soul, that was r”l wasting away. R’ Simcha Bunim continued to speak to him from his heart, until he made him a complete baal teshuva.
