Rebbe Ahron of Belz zt'l was once in Lizensk to daven by the kever of Rebbe Elimelech of Lizensk zy'a. Reb Ahron's chassidim arranged a place for him to stay not far from the tziyon, but the Rebbe didn’t want to sleep in the bed that was prepared for him. He pointed to the ceiling.
At first, the chassidim didn’t understand his intention, but they soon found out that above this room was a women's room. The Rebbe sensed it with his ruach hakodesh, and due to his refined holy sensitivities, he didn’t want to sleep there.
A child from the household offered the Rebbe his bed. The Rebbe didn’t want to take the child's bed away. The child insisted that he had many relatives in the city where he could stay, and he was glad to give him the bed. The Belzer Rebbe accepted the offer and stayed for two nights.
Years later, this boy grew up, but he didn’t have any children. He came to Reb- be Ahron of Belz – by that time, they were both living in Eretz Yisroel – and asked for a brachah for children.
The Rebbe knocked on his table. "Two nights, two children. You allowed me to sleep in your bed for two nights; therefore, you will have two children."
One of the wonders of this story is that Reb Ahron recognized this man many years later, but it is also a lesson in hakaras hatov.
Reb Yitzchak Shlomo Ungar zt'l once repeated the above story at a bais avel. This turned out to be amazing hashgachah pratis because the aveilim said that it hap- pened to their father. They were the two children born from the Rebbe's brachah.
Rebbe Ahron of Belz zy'a once said to the Rebbe of Biala zy'a, "I am grateful to you because your great-great-grandfather, the Yid HaKadosh zy'a, did favors for my great-grandfather, the Sar Shalom of Belz."
When one has hakaras hatov to others, he will also have hakaras hatov to Hashem. He will know and recognize and remember that all the goodness that he enjoys are presents from Hashem.
Reprinted from “Torah Wellsprings: Collected Thoughts from Rabbi Elimelech Biderman,” as compiled by Rabbi Boruch Twersky.
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