The Chofetz Chaim would travel from city to city to sell his sefarim and influence the various communities he visited with his unwavering impact. One time, he happened to be staying at a Jewish-run inn and was having a meal when a big broad-shouldered man in peasant’s clothing stormed in. The man was apparently Jewish, though he didn’t show any signs of it. He demanded service and ordered a loaf of bread and an abundance of liquor. When they arrived, he downed the liquor quickly and ripped into the bread without washing his hands or making any bracha first.
The Chofetz Chaim went to the owner of the inn and said, “Perhaps I should go over to that man and explain to him the proper way of eating a meal.”
The owner shook his head. “That man is Jewish, but he certainly doesn’t act it. He was snatched from his home when he was young to serve in the Czar’s army, and he’s lived with non-Jews ever since. He’s forgotten everything about Judaism, and he doesn’t want to know about it. He’s a lost case. Don’t waste your time on him.”
But the Chofetz Chaim thought otherwise. He went over to the man and sat down beside him. “Excuse me for bothering you,” he said. “My name is Yisroel Meir Kagan. I hope you don’t mind if I join you for a few minutes.”
The man looked at him with great surprise. “Aren’t you the one they call the Chofetz Chaim? The famous rabbi whom everyone has such respect for?”
“Well, everybody is wrong. The one that they should respect for is you!” answered the Chofetz Chaim.
The man was totally confused “What do you mean?”
“I’ve heard that you were one of the Cantonists taken to the Czar’s army when you were young. Is that true?”
The man nodded sadly. “It’s been so long since I was taken that I can’t remember my parents anymore.”
“And yet you survived and you returned to live again among your fellow Jews. That took a lot of courage, and I admire you for it!”
“You admire me? But I don’t keep any of the Jewish laws, I don’t go to the synagogue, I don’t say blessings...”
“Of course not!” said the Chofetz Chaim. “It’s been years since you’ve done these things. You’ve been in a non-Jewish environment all these years. How could you remember the Jewish ways? Would you allow me to help you learn them again?”
The man looked at the Chofetz Chaim for a long time, then he suddenly burst into tears. “Since I’ve been back, everyone has avoided me. You were the first to take any interest in me at all. If you are willing to teach the Jewish laws to an ignorant man like me, I’d be happy to learn them.”
The Chofetz Chaim sat down with the man and began learning until, eventually, the man once again became a Torah-observant Jew.
By not looking down on the man, the Chofetz Chaim won him back to Yiddishkeit. With the proper vision a sleeping neshama was once again reignited.
