As the man mentioned the Kotzker Rebbi, the Avnei Nezer started talking about his father in law, the holy Rebbe of Kotzk. The man started crying hysterically. The Rebbe asked him to stop especially since it was Rosh Chodesh. But the more the Rebbe tried to calm him down, the stronger he cried. Finally he managed to tell the Rebbe of his tragedy that his son was in the army and had lost all contact. The Rebbe replied, “I promise you that your son will celebrate Pesach at home.”
There was a man who was an opponent of the Avnei Nezer. During one of the wars the man’s son had been drafted in to the army and he never heard from him since then. The man feared that his son may have been killed. The man decided to go to see the Avnei Nezer. Even though he wasn’t a supporter of his, to put it mildly, but he knew he was a holy man. The man came in and told the Rebbe that he remembers him from the old times when they studied by the Kotzker Rebbi.
When the man heard it, he realized that his son was still alive and left happily home. Adar passed and there was no news. Nissan arrived and still nothing. Erev Pesach afternoon the boy still hadn’t arrived home. The man started to give up. He got dressed in his fresh clothing for Pesach and headed to Shul broken hearted. But as he was about to open the door, the door opened and his son walked in. He told his father that just a few days ago he was called by an officer, given a ticket and told to go home.
Rabbi Feivel, the Rabbi of Navdavar had a dangerous infection in his hand. The doctors were very worried that it could spread and that it was dangerous so they wanted to amputate his hand. Reb Feivel said he won’t do anything before asking the Avnei Nezer. As he was sick he asked the Avnei Nezer to come and visit him. They were close friends many years already from the days they studied in Kotzk. The Avnei Nezer came to visit his friend but wasn’t willing to voice an opinion. Instead he called two other big Rabbanim and told them he is making a Beis Din. Together they went through the similar situation what would be the Halacha of an animal that had the same infection in the hand. (These laws are in Hilchos Tereifos – Shulchan Aruch Yore Deah)
After several hours the Avnei Nezer ruled not to cut amputate the hand but use other methods to cure the hand. Reb Feivel left his hand and Baruch Hashem he was completely healed to the amazement of the doctors.
A man came crying to the Avnei Nezer. “Rebbe,” he cried, “I have a court case coming up. If I lose the case, I will lose all my money but even worse, me and my whole family will be in great danger.” The Rebbe listened but never replied. Instead he was mumbling to himself, “mice, mice.” He never said anything more, he stuck out his hand and wished the man Lechaim Uleshalom. The man went home in a turmoil. On the day of the court case the man arrived in court. To his amazement he was told to go back home. “Mice ate up your papers so we can’t hold any case against you.”
