In the book Zichron Yaakov, the following incident is brought in this regard.
In a small town in Lithuania in the Kovno district there lived a very respected Jew, a man of letters and a man of his people, for his livelihood the man ran a tavern, and in addition to a wine cellar, he also set up an amusement place there (like billiards), and the Polish nobles loved to gather, have fun there and get drunk for their pleasure. The life of honor and well-being that was the Jew's lot did not distract him from setting times for Torah, and his pleasantness made him respectable and desirable to all his acquaintances and acquaintances.
In 1911, with the end of the Polish uprising, in which the Russian armies of Mursha and one of the Russian generals chose to cross with all his battalions through the same city, he arrived there on Friday night tired and tired from the upheavals of the roads. When he heard that there was a tavern and a wine cellar in the city, he immediately sent one of his servants to the Jew to buy good wine from him. When the general saw the servant returning empty-handed, very angry, he sent two more soldiers to the Jew to deliver a firm order in his name: "He must sell them wine without delay"! However, the soldiers reiterated that the Jew had replied to them that he was forbidden to trade and sell on Shabbat Kadesh, but that he agreed to give the general the keys to the tavern, so that he could take anything he wanted himself.
When the brave answer was given to the general, he felt admiration for the owner of the tavern, and he wanted to meet him face to face, and to trace his essence, whether he was just a brazen and bold Jew who dared to answer the great general empty-handedly with provocative answers, or was he speaking in truth as a man of values, who was willing to give up all his possessions for the principles of his religion. He came to the Jewish house and was amazed, the great and glorious house was well lit, and many lamps lit from every corner, wonderful cleanliness and order prevailed in it, the table was set in great magnificence, the members of the house were dressed in royal garments, and the nobility of the master's face was cut off from all his movements, even a gentile like him could easily discern the atmosphere of holiness and royalty that overlapped the house. He introduced himself to the Jew, and tried to understand how it was possible that despite his many honorary titles, and his important status, he dared to return his face empty-handed. The Jew replied, "May His glory forgive me, but there is one world that is greater and more honorable and exalted than you, and also greater and more honorable than people more important than you, namely the Holy One, blessed be He. But, honorable sir, if I have already been honored by your personal visit to my house, I shall be very glad to host you, please, remain with me, and honor me with this great honor." When he left the house, he gave the Jew a large gold coin and asked to pay for the expenses of the hospitality, but the Jew refused, God forbid that I should take money for the expenses of Shabbat Kadesh, for I said in advance that my reward is the very honor of hosting a noble and honorable minister like you. The general heard what he had to say, took out his personal notebook, wrote down his name, and said goodbye to him with great friendliness.
A few years passed, the general managed to advance in his attacks, and became the chief inspector of all the prisons in the country, and here a dramatic political development took place, the organizer of the revolt was caught and all his papers were confiscated, and, among other things, a memorandum was found in which he used to stay with nobles in the Jewish tavern in one of the cities in the Kovno district . Within a few hours, the Jew suddenly discovered in his home a delegation of policemen with a covered wagon, and without any further explanation he found himself handcuffed in it and taken to Vilna, where he was imprisoned in a solitary place, as one of the poorest prisoners.
One day the prison inspector came to visit, he knew the owner of the inn, and was very surprised at his imprisonment in general, and especially in these harsh conditions, "What is going on here, honorable Jew?" he asked, and the Jew replied, "Like you, I don't know what I'm being accused of." The inspector was recruited to deal with the matter personally, and when the accusation became known, he gathered the council ministers and said to them, "I guarantee in favor of this Jew that he is free from the sin of rebellion! He is a simple innkeeper, and how can he know the plot of his guests and visitors?!" he went on to tell how much he admired him at the meeting between them, and the ministers, who were very impressed by this, hurried to take him out for free.
When the Jew arrived at his home, he recited the blessing of Ha-Gomel for the miracle that had been performed for him, but he did not want to rely on miracles, and he did not rest until he sold his house and everything he owned and moved to the Holy Land.
