Rabbi Yitzchak Isaac Taub zt"l
Grand Rabbi of Kaliv
7 Adar 5581 (1821)
On the day before every Yom Tov, Rabbi Isaac Kaliver would disappear for many hours; no one knew where he went. One year on Erev Sukkos, the lay leader of the Kaliv Jewish community, Reb Yaakov Fisch, was determined to discover the Tzaddik’s secret. While the Rebbe was occupied, Fisch hid himself in the wagon, where he remained undiscovered until the Rebbe was well on his journey.
When Reb Yankel revealed himself, the Rebbe became visibly distressed. He turned to Reb Yaakov and said, "What can I do with you now?" He made him promise not to ask any questions, not of himself nor of anyone else.
Soon they arrived at a town which Yankel did not recognize. The Rebbe abruptly stopped the wagon, and began to walk down a narrow path that led to a Mikveh. He instructed his passenger to wait while he immersed himself there.
Yankel waited in the wagon until he was overcome with curiosity and impatience. Forgetting the Tzaddik’s warning, he hopped off the wagon and sought to question the people nearby. "Excuse me," he asked the first man he stopped, "but where am I?"
"Don't you know where you are?" the astonished fellow replied, thinking that he was dealing with a madman. "Where do you think you are?"
"Well, I was just in Kaliv, Hungary, a few hours ago," Yankel began.
"Now I know you're mad," said the man, "How could you possibly get from Kaliv to Tzefas in a few hours?"
"Tzefas?!" cried Yankel. "You're the one who is mad! How could I be in Tzefas, in Eretz Yisrael, if I was just in Kaliv?"
The argument intensified, and in the heat of the debate Yankel forgot to get back to the wagon before the Rebbe reappeared. To his dismay, he arrived back at the Mikveh just in time to see the wagon pulling away. Yankel was beside himself. Here he was, stranded in a town of insane people who thought they were living in Tzefas!
However, he had no choice but to ask one of them to take him in to his home for Sukkos.
Already during the first hours of the festival, seeing the different customs and hearing people speaking in Hebrew and in Arabic as well as Yiddish, Yankel realized that indeed he was in Tzefas, Astonished, it dawned on him as an epiphany that the Kaliver used a Divine Holy Name for kefitzas haderech (a miraculous contraction of a journey) to come to Tzefas every Erev Yom Tov in order to immerse himself in the Mikveh of the holy Ari hakadosh, Rabbi Yitzchak Luria.
His amazement was quickly joined by shock as he realized that he was compelled to remain in Tzefas until the Rebbe would return the following Yom Tov. How else could he possibly get all the way back to Europe?
Meanwhile, back in Kaliv, the Fisch family was frantic about Yankel's sudden disappearance. They ran to the Rebbe for advice. The Kaliver smiled as he assured them that there was no need for concern, promising that he would return just in time for the Pesach Seder!
And so it was. Six months later, Yankel Fisch was delighted to see the Tzaddik’s wagon arriving at the Ari Hakadosh's Mikveh on Erev Pesach. This time he made sure not to miss the ride back home.
The Rebbe extracted a promise from Yankel not to reveal this incident in his lifetime. So it became known only after the Rebbe passed away.
