One cold winter day, the Gaon, Rav Nosson Adler, was traveling together with his esteemed talmid, the Chasam Sofer. The horses pulling the wagon were trudging through the heavy snow with great difficulty. Suddenly, one of the horses collapsed and died, and the second horse was not strong enough to pull the wagon alone. The wagon driver, having no other choice, starting walking to the nearest village to obtain an additional horse. The two venerated passengers waited in the wagon.
Eventually, the wagon driver returned, leading a...donkey. When Rav Nosson saw the donkey, he descended from the wagon, and began to dance happily in the snow. “Rebbe,” asked the Chasam Sofer, “Why are you so happy?”
“Don’t you see?” asked Rav Nosson. “The wagon driver brought a donkey instead of a horse. Who would ever have thought that I would merit fulfilling the mitzva of “Do not plow with an ox and donkey together”? At home in Frankfurt, I never imagined that I would merit fulfilling this commandment. Now that Boruch Hashem, I merited it, I am filled with joy!”
The passengers instructed the wagon driver to return the donkey, and he brought back a horse in its place. (Ukarasa Lashabbos Oneg)
No Chiddush
The Divrei Chaim of Sanz once told Rav Shimon Sofer of Cracow regarding his father the Chasam Sofer that:
“It was no chiddush that your father the Chasam Sofer was so great and holy and rose to such heights when he had a rebbe such as Rav Nassan Adler.
Regarding whom I heard from my own rebbe Rav Naphtali of Ropshitz who heard in turn from his rebbe the Rebbe Reb Melech of Lizensk author of Noam Elimelech who said that ‘for many years a soul such as Rav Nosson Adler’s had not descended to this world besides the soul of the Baal Shem Tov.’”
