The first Belzer Rav, the Sar Sholom, had a Chassid who always traveled to Eretz Yisrael to procure an esrog for the Rebbe for Sukkos. One summer, when this Chassid was preparing for the journey, the Rebbe gave him an additional mission: to procure the sefer Nahar Sholom and the various volumes of the siddur of the holy Rashash, which was rare back then, and only available as a hand-written manuscript – and only in Yeshiva Beis E”l in the old city of Yerushalayim.
The Chassid accepted the mission and when he traveled to Eretz Yisrael he succeeded in procuring the manuscripts of the Rashash’s writings, as well as the siddur for the Sar Sholom.
When word reached the Rebbe, his joy knew no bounds, and when he heard of his Chassid’s arrival, the Tzaddik dressed in Shabbos clothes and went out to the city limits to meet the approaching caravan and horses. When the Chassid saw the Rebbe approach, bedecked in his Shabbos finery, he alighted and approached the Rebbe.
“Where are the seforim of the holy Rashash?” inquired the Rebbe.
The Chassid pointed to one of the trunks and, to his amazement, the Rebbe lifted the heavy trunk off the horse and carried it by hand himself all the way back to town!
Afterward, the Rebbe closeted himself in his room for some three days straight to study the seforim. When he emerged on the fourth day, a holy light shone from his countenance and he declared, “For some years now I greatly desired to study the sefer Nahar Sholom and the siddur of the Rashash. Now that I have achieved my heart’s desire and have studied them, I see that we are both of the same mind on certain matters; many things I thought, the Rashash also teaches!” The Rebbe then handed out cake and bronfen and they drank lechaim! (Moron HaRashash, p. 232–235)
