The Baal HaTanya (Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi.)
The Baal HaTanya’s grandson, Reb Nachum, wore a luxurious jacket with fur around the collar, which didn’t find liking by the Baal HaTanya. He bought it around the time he got married, and the Baal HaTanya told him that he didn’t want him to wear it.
His grandson answered that he couldn’t stop wearing it..
The Baal HaTanya said, “I’ll buy you another jacket.”
His grandson repeated that he couldn’t change the jacket. “I will give you the money to replace it,” the Baal HaTanya pleaded, but still he refused. He couldn’t part from his coat.
Finally, the Baal HaTanya told him, “If you take off this coat, I guarantee you a portion with me in Gan Eden.”
This time, the grandson accepted the offer. It was too good to refuse.
People asked the Baal HaTanya how he could guarantee this great reward for his grandson. Perhaps he won’t deserve it!
The Baal HaTanya replied, “You saw how hard it was for him to remove the coat. It wasn’t just the coat, and it wasn’t just the style. He had a burning yetzer hara preventing him from agreeing to my offers. I understood that it was a great test for him, and if he passed the test, then he deserves to be brought to such a place in Gan Eden for that alone.” (Torah Wellsprings, Toldos, p. 5)
Reprinted from the Parshas Ki Sisa 5785 email of Rabbi Moshe Hirschberg’s Zichru Toras Moshe.
