In the town of Lubavitch, there lived a Jew by the name Pesach, he was the town wagon-driver and was affectionately known by the nickname, “Paishe the ba’al agalah (wagon driver).” He was a very simple Jew.
As a child, he studied in cheder together with the Rebbe Rashab. Chasidim, being aware of this, would therefore often request Paishe the ba’al agalah to share some of his memories of the Rebbe Rashab while in school with him. Paishe would always reply: “what do you want from me!? I’m a simple Jew, and I don’t remember anything!”
On one occasion, the Chassidim nudged Paishe quite a bit to share something with them of the Rebbe, from his childhood. Additionally, they gave him some vodka. This plan worked, and suddenly, Paishe opened up, his memory came back to him, and he related the following story:
“In the town of Lubavitch, there were different classes of people; there were wealthier families and poorer ones,” related Paishe. “I came from the more impoverished families, while the Rebbe Rashab came from a wealthy family.”
As is well-known, his father, the Rebbe Maharash, was very wealthy.
“I would come to school every day with a sandwich for lunch made from black bread, while the Rebbe would come to school every day with a sandwich made of white bread. Every day the Rebbe would approach me and offer to exchange sandwiches with me. He would take my black bread while I would take his white bread. Understandably,” continued Paishe, “I didn’t need much convincing, I immediately accepted his offer.”
“Do you know why the Rebbe wanted my black bread!?” Paishe asked the Chassidim, and immediately gave the answer himself. “It was because my mother used to rub fresh garlic onto the hard bread, and the Rebbe simply liked hard bread garnished with fresh garlic!”
It is self-understood that the deed of the Rebbe Rashab to exchange his sandwich with Paishe’s every day, was an expression of his immense ahavat Yisrael (love of one’s fellow Jew) already in his early childhood.
“Ahavat Yisrael” by Rabbi Shlomo Veshedskya, as heard from his father, a”h, as well from Rabbi Shmuel Butman, as printed in Beis Moshiach.
