A printer from Russia named Asher once came before Rav Pinchos of Koritz, holding a copy of the edition of the holy sefer Ohr HaChaim HaKadosh that he had printed in Shklov (in the year Tav-Kuf-Mem-Alef). Rav Pinchos was initially overjoyed to receive a new edition of such a holy sefer, which he so greatly esteemed. However, he was soon greatly aggrieved and disappointed upon turning to parshas Re’eh, when he noticed that at the end of the Ohr HaChaim’s teachings on the pasuk in Devarim, 15:7, where he writes, “Moshiach Hashem shemo Chaim,” this entire statement was missing from the sefer! When Rav Pinchos asked the printer about this mistake why he had omitted this line, the printer explained that he had done so on purpose. “Everyone knows that the author meant himself, since his name is Chaim. How could I print such a thing?! So I left it out.”
Rav Pinchos Koritzer was very upset. He immediately turned to parshas Naso in Bamidbar (5:22), and pointed to another printer’s error — yet this time, there was no mistake!
“Here,” said Rav Pinchos to the shocked printer, Asher, “see for yourself. Your own signature left here in your edition!” In so saying, he pointed to the words of the Ohr HaChaim describing the Gemara Sotah 18a, where it says that the Sotah is declared pure because she was not defiled, not from this man or another man. The words in the original, correct printing say, “Beyn me'ish zeh beyn me’acher.” However, the wicked printer had left his mark here, and instead, in his edition, it read, “Beyn MeAsher" — his name, Asher, pointing to his own wicked deeds and disgrace!
(Imrei Pinchos, Volume 2, p. 59, and Alef Kesav, #683)
