The Ponovezher Rav zt”l, known for establishing Torah in Bnei Brak by setting up his yeshiva there, would travel around by foot collecting enormous sums for the establishment and maintenance of his enterprise.
Returning from a fundraising trip, the Rav stopped by the bimah in the yeshiva and showed the onlooking crowd a check given by one of the wealthiest individuals of Frankfurt. On it was written an enormous sum, enough to sustain the yeshiva for about half a year.
“When I arrived in Frankfurt,” he told them, “I knocked on doors one by one. In one house, they opened, and in other they didn’t; and so I moved from house to house. One day, Hashem summoned a special askan who informed me that it was not proper to go around by foot. ‘The Rosh Yeshiva of Ponovezh shouldn’t be going door-to-door. Sit in your house, and we shall arrange for you meetings, as is customary with important people, and this is how you will reach your goal.”
When the askan came to speak with one of the very wealthy people and described to him the activities of the yeshiva, the rich man said: “Tomorrow at eight o’clock, I’ll be traveling out-of-town. Please have the Rosh Yeshiva come to the train station at a quarter to eight, and we’ll ‘sort out’ the matters.”
“For the first time in my life,” says the Ponovezher Rav, “I woke up at seven o’clock. I immediately calculated that if I daven with a minyan, I’d ‘lose’ the meeting with the rich man, as he was heading out-of-town. Better that I daven at home, I figured, as the talmud Torah of the yeshiva was on the line, and its worth forsaking davening with a minyan for the learning of the entire yeshiva.
“However, I immediately rejected that thought, as Chazal say that ‘No one listens to me and loses!’ (Midrash Rabbah, Reeh 45). I will go to shul, daven properly with a minyan, and Hashem will get me the money I need from another place.
“I finished the davening at 8:30. I thought to myself, ‘I’ll do my part by going to the train station. Maybe my salvation will grow from there, or from some other place, but I shall do my part. Indeed, I got there at 8:45, a whole hour after we were supposed to meet.
“Five minutes later, the rich man came running in, excessively apologizing for making me wait the full hour. ‘I’m so sorry I delayed. I feel so bad. I want to compensate you, so I’ll give much more than what I’d anticipated giving you.’
“He then gave me this check, which you can see will finance the yeshiva for six months.”
The Ponovezher Rav continued: “I did not come to show you this check as a proof to the words of Chazal. We all believe the words of Chazal, and they don’t need support. Rather, I’m here to show you that not only are there no losses from keeping the Torah and mitzvos; instead, we gain many times over. Had I hurried and davened without a minyan, I would indeed have arrived at the train station at the appointed time, and after waiting for him without him showing up, I would’ve left with no donation.
“Rather, only because I davened with a minyan did I end up being there at the time he showed up and receiving the check, plus much more. This is why I’m standing here to tell you this story.
There are many times where we think that by avoiding doing what’s right, we’ll gain. But, in essence, when we follow what the Torah says, we come out the winner.”
