Rav Shloimke of Zhvil zy”a excelled in this middah. He once was walking on a street when he met a man he had never seen before. The stranger began to viciously curse and badmouth him. Rav Shloimke was unconcerned about his honor and did not care about the shame, and he did not answer back. Finally, the man stopped pouring his rage out on him and left.
The Rebbe then turned to his shamash and asked him to find out where this Yid lived. Once he had this information, he took a bag full of money and told the shamash to bring to the man’s house. The shamash was greatly impressed by the Rebbe’s tzidkus. Not only had he forgiven the man, he even wanted to give him money!
When he got to the address, he found an old, dilapidated house, and the children were wearing torn clothes. He gave the mother the money, and she began to cry. She asked, “How did you know that we are penniless?”
When the shamash went back to the Rebbe, he asked him how he knew the family needed money. The Rebbe answered, “I thought to myself: I don’t know this man and he doesn’t know me. Why is he yelling at me in public? It must be that he is lashing out due to his own problems. When one is in pain, he screams. Therefore, I felt the need to help him. Since most problems are caused by a lack of money, I sent him whatever I could.”
