Do Not Speak Badly About the Land
On the topic of speaking only positively about Eretz Yisroel, Rav Mordechai Chaim of Slonim zy”a related (Maamar Mordechai, Chelek 2) that the Divrei Shmuel of Slonim zy”a had in his possession the tobacco case that had belonged to the Kalisker Rebbe zy”a. He had a special affinity for this holy item, and he kept it near him at all times.
One day, the tobacco case went missing. A major search was undertaken and every nook and cranny of the house was checked, but it was not found. This loss caused the Divrei Shmuel much pain.
A long time later, a chasid of the Rebbe named R’ Zelig Lieder found himself in the home of a close friend in Eretz Yisroel. While he was there, he noticed that the lost tobacco case was sitting on the bookshelf. He discovered that this man had seen how much the Rebbe valued this holy item, and he greatly desired to have it. He could not overcome his desire, and he took it.
R’ Zelig asked the man to give it to him so that he could return it to the Rebbe, and the man agreed. R’ Zelig was overjoyed to have the opportunity to return the stolen object and bring joy to the Rebbe.
When he got back to Slonim, he went to the Rebbe, handed over the tobacco container, and told him how he had found it. To his surprise, the Rebbe refused to take it. He said, “If I were to take it, whenever you would see it by me, you would remember that a Jew from Eretz Yisroel sinned and stole it. This will cause you to think badly about a Jew from Eretz Yisroel!”
