Rav Nachum was from the Town of Yalkovitz in Western Galicia. He was a Talmid Chacham and a wealthy person. He owned a large, successful inn. Every Rav or prominent Yid found a temporary home by Reb Nachum for a week or longer, with hospitality and warmth, and when the time came to depart Reb Nachum gave each a nice donation.
One day, a Yid came to Reb Nachum’s inn wearing torn clothing and looked like a doomed person. At first glance, Reb Nachum saw an ordinary poor person looking for a good meal and a place to rest. However, this Yid didn’t ask for anything and only when Reb Nachum offered him to eat did he oblige. When the meal was finished the Yid said to Reb Nachum “I must leave now I’m in a rush.” Reb Nachum begged him to stay overnight but to no avail. He insisted he must leave now! Reb Nachum took out a coin to give to the Yid, but he refused to accept it. Reb Nachum thought maybe the coin was too small for the Yid, therefore he took out a larger coin to give. The Yid still refused it and added, “I’m a very rich person!” Reb Nachum started to wonder if maybe this Yid was insane or a fantasizer. When the Yid understood what Reb Nachum was thinking he stated “I’ll tell you my story:
I come from Budapest where I own many villages and houses as well as many fields. I also have many stores which sell fruits and wine. I employ hundreds of workers too. One day I took home a large sum of money and it was taken from me. I had a young Jewish girl, an orphan whom I had recently hired and did not know very well and I accused her of taking the money. She swore and cried to me that she didn’t take the money. I lost my calm at the thought of losing such a great sum of money and I got the police involved. They tried to get a confession from her but to no avail. All the torture and threats to her caused her to get sick and she died shortly after.
A few weeks later, the money was returned to me by a worker who confessed to me, after I promised not to punish him. Now I was in a dilemma. I had caused an innocent Jewish girl to die for nothing. I could not find peace in me. My life was in shatters. I decided to go to Reb Meir from Premishlan. I told him what I did and he got very intense and started pacing back and forth till he finally said: “I have three solutions for your Teshuva and Tikkun, but you must choose one of them. The first choice is to die this year. The death will be an atonement. The second choice is to live, however you will become very sick and suffer much pain for 3 years. The third choice is to go into exile for three years. It will be a very difficult three years as you will not be allowed to sleep over in one place two nights in a row. You will not be allowed to ask for food even if you feel you are about to die. You must not accept money from anyone. Also, you must only travel by foot and never accept a ride from anyone. At the end of every year, you are to come to me to see how you are progressing with the Teshuva.
I was full of fear and told the Rebbe. I’ll answer him in a few days. Meanwhile, I went back to work and forgot about my promise to the Rebbe. One day, I woke up with a headache and thought it would go away. Day by day it got worse and I reminded myself what the Rebbe had spoken to me. Now I realized that the Rebbe had chosen for me the first choice. I was devastated and sent a messenger to the Rebbe apologizing that I forgot about my promise. However, if the Rebbe will forgive me and let me become well I will come to the Rebbe with my decision. The Rebbe agreed and I started feeling better and then I came to the Rebbe. I again apologized and told the Rebbe I chose to go into exile. The Rebbe said “Ok, you must remove your aristocratic clothing now and don the clothing of a poor wanderer. Your exile will start now!” Now the Yid concluded: “It is now the end of two years of exile and I went to Premishlan and heard that the Rebbe was Niftar. I was devastated and full of uncertainty about what to do now. I met a Talmid Chacham and I shared my dilemma with him. He told me to travel to Sanz to visit Rav Chaim the Sanzer Rav, and The Divrei Chaim, who was close to Rav Meir. Now from here, it is a long walk to Sanz and I have no tranquility until I hear from the Sanzer Rav about my situation. Therefore I’m in a rush!” Reb Nachum wished the Yid success and he departed. The Yid listened to that Talmid Chacham and traveled to Sanz, and as soon as he entered the room of the Rebbe, The Rebbe told him “Not to worry. The two years of exile was enough and the Teshuva was accepted by Hashem.” The Yid thanked the Rebbe and after leaving the Rebbe, he felt as if a stone was removed from his heart and felt calm. The Yid traveled home, and was welcomed to his happy family. It was a lesson learned the hard way, not to suspect anyone until you are sure!
