Not impressed by the lieutenant's bluster, the Rav explained calmly once again that according to his understanding, he could not go to say the confession, for he would not be even an indirect cause of a fellow Jew's death. The lieutenant threatened to drag the Rabbi to the jail and put him in the same cell with the prisoner. The Rav stood his ground and would not go. Some people tried to send the shul attendant to take the Rav's place, but the lieutenant would settle for nothing less than the Rav.
When he came back to headquarters, the lieutenant ordered that the death of the criminal be delayed until he received further instructions from higher authorities.
That night an envoy came from a higher court with an order stating that the Jewish "criminal" had been pardoned. Thus, a man's life was saved only because the new Brisker Rav refused to have any part, no matter how slight or indirect, in bringing about the death of a fellow Jew.
Reprinted from the ArtScroll book –"The Maggid Speaks” by Rabbi Paysach J. Krohn. (Editor’s Note: To see a photo of the Brisker Rav, turn back to page 5).
