The following story depicts how tzadikim provide great blessings for the world: In the times of the Ruzhiner Rebbe zy”a, there lived a melamed named R’ Menashe who taught Torah to young children in a small village near Ruzhin. R’ Menashe was a devoted, wonderful rebbi, but he was also extremely poor. He was so impoverished that he didn’t even have enough money to properly feed his growing family.
As his children grew older and were nearing marriageable age, he began to worry how he would be able to marry them off. R’ Menashe would travel to Ruzhin every year on Hoshana Rabba, and he would bask in the holy atmosphere until after Simchas Torah, when he would return home. This year, he decided that he wouldn’t leave Ruzhin until he got a bracha from the Rebbe for sufficient livelihood to cover his basic expenses and to marry off his children.
The Ruzhiner Rebbe was accustomed to daven in a private room on the side of the bais medrash, where he would seclude himself and engage in his holy avodah. The chasidim would gather near the door to his room, hoping to have the zechus of hearing the Rebbe’s tefillos. On Hoshana Rabbah, R’ Menashe was standing near the door during the recitation of Hoshanos when it suddenly opened a crack. The Rebbe looked at the chasidim standing there and, when he saw R’ Menashe, he motioned for him to come closer.
R’ Menashe nervously approached the door and the Rebbe said to him, “L’chaim, R’ Menashe. It has just been decreed that you will become very wealthy. The wealth will come to you in an unexpected way. L’chaim. I bless you that you should not forget your brethren even when you are rich!”
After davening, dozens of chasidim who had heard about the Rebbe’s bracha came over to wish R’ Menashe “mazal tov” on the wealth he was about to receive. None of them had any doubt that the Rebbe’s words would be fulfilled. Some businessmen offered to be his partner in business but he did not accept any offer. The Rebbe had told him that his wealth would come in an unexpected way, so he did not want to accept a standard business arrangement.
On Motzoei Simchas Torah, several wealthy men approached him and offered him a ride on their fancy carriages – as is befitting a wealthy man – but he also refused this offer. He began to walk home with his traveling bag slung over his shoulder, with a heart full of joy because of the good tidings he had received. As he walked, it began to rain heavily. He looked for a place to seek shelter from the elements, and saw a small roadside inn, which he hurried to enter.
There were about 50 Russian soldiers staying in the inn at that time. They playing cards and drinking whiskey when and one of them suggested they play a different game. He suggested a game where everyone would try to say the most outlandish lie, and the one with the best lie would get a 100-ruble prize, which they all would chip in for.
One of the soldiers said, “Yesterday, I saw a donkey with eight legs!” A second soldier tried to outdo him and said, “A month ago, my neighbor’s cow gave birth to a calf with two heads and a donkey with eight legs!” This went on for a while, with each soldier trying to tell a lie that was more unbelievable than his friends’ lies. However, the judge kept saying that none of the lies were outrageous enough, as all of them could possibly happen.
R’ Menashe was standing on the side and built up the nerve to step forward and say that he wanted to join the competition. The soldiers eyed him hatefully, enraged by the fact that a Jew dared to interrupt their conversation. The judge, however, told him, “You know what? Let’s make a deal. If you win, you can take the 100 rubles. If you fail, however, we’ll give you 100 lashes.” Menashe was unfazed and said he was ready to start. The judge quieted the crowd and told him to begin.
Menashe looked at the judge and said, “First of all, I want to tell you that I recognize the judge. Did you know that he is a Jew?” These words caused a great commotion. Everyone began to scream, “That’s a lie!” Suddenly, they realized that the Jew had succeeded in telling a lie that none of them believed, and that they had to give him the 100 rubles.
The judge was very impressed by the Jew’s wisdom. He gave him the money and asked him to come visit him in the army camp, where he was the commanding officer. He also handed him a pass, confirming that he had the right to visit him in the camp. He signed the pass with his name, Anatoli Ivanov.
Two weeks later, R’ Menashe went to the camp and showed his pass to the guard. He was allowed in and shown to the commander’s room. Ivanov was happy to see him and said, “I know that Jews are not only smart, they are also trustworthy. I am in command of 5,000 soldiers who faithfully serve Czar Nicholai. Recently I noticed that the soldiers are getting weaker. It is clear to me that the person in charge of providing them with food is a fraud and a swindler and does not buy good food for them. Therefore, I want to hire you to be in charge of buying the soldiers’ food.”
R’ Menashe immediately thought that this must be what the Ruzhiner Rebbe had predicted, and he accepted the job. From then on, R’ Menashe’s life totally changed. During the week, he lived in the army camp, where he was in charge of the food. Everyone saw how honest and trustworthy he was, and the soldiers regained their strength. While he now had sufficient parnassah, he wondered why the Rebbe’s blessing had not been fully fulfilled, as he still was far from wealthy.
A short while later, Czar Nikolai had a foolish idea enter his head. He announced that all the soldiers of the army would need to train to march a long way with heavy loads because he eventually wanted to hold a big march in his presence, and everyone would march a long way with a heavy rucksack on their shoulders. Commander Ivanov took pity on the soldiers and, knowing that they would not be able to withstand it, decided to ignore the order and not to train them to do this. Indeed, all the soldiers in other camps got this training, but Ivanov’s camp remained the only one that didn’t do it.
Ultimately, the order came from the Czar that on a certain day everyone must report to a designated place.
The next day, when Menashe arrived at the gates of the camp, Ivanov greeted him with a sullen face. He told him, “I have to tell you goodbye.”
Menashe asked him what happened, and the commander told him, “I did not listen to the Czar’s order to train my soldiers to march a long way with heavy loads. When the Czar sees during the parade that the soldiers serving in my camp are dropping like flies at the very beginning of the parade, he will surely remove me from my post, and he might even execute me as punishment for not listening in him.”
R’ Menashe suggested to him that he fill the soldiers’ bags with straw, which does not weigh much, so that they could easily walk on their feet the whole way. The commander was very happy to hear his suggestion. He immediately gathered all the officers and soldiers and made them swear a solemn oath that they would not tell anything about this idea.
When the big day arrived, Czar Nicholai arrived with a large entourage of high-ranking officials. After the trumpets sounded, the soldiers began to march with heavy packs on their backs. After just a few minutes, they all began to fall down. The Czar face turned red with anger, and he decreed that they all be sent to a prison camp. But when Commander Ivanov’s unit started marching, they walked all the way with their heads held high.
The Czar was so happy to see that at least one commander obeyed him that he did not think to check what they had put in their sacks. He promoted Ivanov to the position of general. As a sign of gratitude, Ivanov appointed R’ Menashe to be in charge of providing all the food for all the soldiers in the Russian Army. Now, he became extremely wealthy, as the Rebbe had promised. He did not forget the Rebbe’s words, and he always remembered his poor brothers and gave tzedakah with an open hand.
Reprinted from the Parshas Vayikra email of The Way of Emunah: Collected Thoughts from Rabbi Meir Isamar Rosenbaum.
