There lived a man named Shopvol in the city of Anipoli. This man was a simple craftsman, but he prayed in the shul every day, rain or shine, and never missed a day. If there was a minyan, he joined it, but if not, he still came to shul and prayed in his accustomed place.
Once the Baal Shem Tov was traveling through the area and spent a night in Anipoli. As he was sitting by the window smoking his pipe in the early morning, he spied a man rushing through the street, although it was bitterly cold.
The Besht called his host and asked who the man was and where he was going, to which he replied that the man was named Shopvol and he was hurrying off to pray in the shul as usual. The Besht was curious to meet him and asked that he be asked to come.
The host replied, He probably will refuse to come. He's a simple craftsman with little understanding.
That answer notwithstanding, the Besht sent one of his disciples to go to the man and ask that he bring him four pairs of socks. When the man arrived, the Besht asked, How much are these socks?
They are a gulden and a half each pair, was the reply. Perhaps you would sell them for a gulden? the Besht asked. If I were, I would have said it up front, the man replied.
The Besht paid the full amount and continued speaking to the man, inquiring about his life and his work. How do you go about making the socks? he asked.
When I have finished making fifty pairs, said the man, I soak them in warm water and wring them out and lay them flat to dry. Then, I wait for the merchants to come and buy them. They always come to me, and I hardly ever go out, except to go to shul to pray. It was only out of my respect for you that I agreed to bring these socks to you.
