There was an incident of a Jew who wanted to immigrate to Eretz Yisrael, but could not afford to pay for the travel expenses, but his strong desire and great desire did not subside until he went to the port with his family. When he found a ship bound for Eretz Yisrael, he went and begged the captain to allow him to join the voyage in exchange for the few pennies in his hand, without receiving a cabin and without being promised any food. The captain was overwhelmed with mercy, and he agreed to their request. He assigned them a place on the ship to sit and sleep there, in a dark, narrow and stuffy place, near the cargo holds.
The first days of the journey passed with great difficulty, but when a few days had passed and no food had yet come to their mouths, the woman's spirit was broken, and she began to cry bitterly: "What is the point of this whole journey, if we arrive in the Land of Israel as dead?" God saw their sorrow and sent His help in a miraculous way. A terrible storm began to rage in the middle of the sea, and terror and fear fell on all the passengers. The Jews on the ship began to cry out to God. They even vowed to give charity, so that they would have the right to be saved from death. Hashem listened to the sound of their prayers, and the sea calmed down from its fury. As soon as the storm subsided, the passengers sought to fulfill their vow to Hashem immediately, and began to search diligently on the ship for a poor person who could receive the charity they had vowed. They searched but did not find, until one of the passengers remembered, the Jewish couple sitting in the belly of the ship with nothing... The passengers immediately felt that they were in a state of fainting from hunger and thirst. The people hastened to revive them with food and drink and showered them with all kinds of goodness, including supplies for the days to come. The rest of the journey passed smoothly and pleasantly for all the passengers, without any mishap, until they all merited to bless the Holy Land in peace.
Only after they arrived didthe kosher woman ask her husband: "How dare you take the risk of boarding the ship without food and hunting?" The Jew replied in good faith: "G-d who can sustain me only on land and not at sea, such G-d is not His servant!" "Ett das is a Richtig faith!" (This is the correct belief!) Rabbi Zalman was enthusiastic. And when he joined the call of that Jew, he would repeat his words over and over again: "G-d who can provide for me only on land and not at sea, such G-d is not His servant!" It is said that it is not enough for a person to merely "know" that the Creator is the One who turns the world around, and everything is from Him and His will, but rather true faith is concerned with a pale emotion, and a clear recognition that before Him there is no restraining from providing every creature with his needs at any time and at any time.
