A LESSON LEARNED FROM THIEVES
Rav Moshe of Pshevorsk was once traveling in the forest and lost his way. After wandering about some three hours with no sense of direction he happened upon a small cottage, from where he saw a light shining. As he reached the window and peered inside, he was seized by great fear, for he saw a band of robbers and highwaymen plotting theft and murder.
Unfortunately, the band of thieves spotted him, grabbed him and tied him up. As he awaited his fate, he began to recite the Viduy (confessional prayer) and Shema Yisrael over and over, as one prepares himself to take leave of this world. Just then, among the thieves, a Jewish robber spotted and recognized the Tzaddik.
“Wait, my friends! Do not harm this man, for he is a Tzaddik and has the power to bless us.”
Thus he convinced his friends not to harm or touch Rav Moshe. The ringleaders approached him and said, “Honorable Rav, please bless us and then please offer us your sage advice.”
Rav Moshe agreed. “Here is a young lad who is in training. We wish you to observe our initiation and offer your sage advice as to whether he is fit to join us or not.”
So saying, they asked the lad to fetch a candle, but he returned with a loaf of bread. When they challenged his mistake, the brazen youth stood his ground, arguing. He endured a beating but would not admit his error. This scenario repeated itself over and over again: the robbers requested he fetch an object and he would return with something else, and each time, rather than admit any mistake or wrongdoing, he accepted a beating that grew harsher and harsher. After the last beating of one hundred blows, almost enough to kill a man, the robbers turned to the Tzaddik and asked his advice. “You see, Rav, we are training the lad; by these blows, he learns never to admit his mistake. That way, if he is caught he learns that in the end all beatings cease, and if he never admits and confesses, he will go free and we will never be discovered.”
“I have learned a valuable mussar lesson,” remarked Rav Moshe Pshevorsker. “Even if someone is beaten and downtrodden by yissurim (suffering), it must always come to an end, for He is merciful.” (Ben Beisi on Avos – Komarna p. 280)
