GREAT REWARD FOR A GOOD DEED
Once Rebbe Reb Elimelech was on his way to the mikve accompanied by another Jew, when he heard a heavenly voice call out, “He who helps Rebbe Reb Shmelke overcome the wicked people in Nikolsburg will be assured a portion in the World to Come!” Rebbe Reb Shmelke had suffered terribly at the hands of some of the local residents. Rebbe Reb Elimelech asked the fellow who was with him if he had heard anything. The man had not. The Rebbe said to himself, “Since I heard this myself, it is a sign that I must journey to Nikolsburg.” He set off for Nikolsburg, and when he arrived he went straight to the house of Rebbe Reb Shmelke and asked him permission to give a discourse in the shul and rebuke the congregation. “And what good will it do for you to scold them?” Rebbe Reb Shmelke replied. “They will accept no tochocha.” But Rebbe Reb Elimelech insisted, and finally Rebbe Reb Shmelke gave in and granted him permission.
Rebbe Reb Elimelech went to the shul, where many people had gathered to hear his discourse, and he began to lecture. It seemed he had set out to prove to them how several sins listed in the Torah could actually be permitted. This type of speech was quite to their liking, and it whetted their palates for more. And so it was announced that Rebbe Reb Elimelech would speak again in the shul the next day, and the congregation returned in droves; almost the whole town showed up to hear the discourse.
This time Rebbe Reb Elimelech proceeded to prove to them how false were yesterday’s proofs and how all the sins in the Torah are quite grave and it is forbidden to transgress even the slightest of prohibitions of the Rabbonim’s enactments and decrees. His words stirred feelings of repentance and regret in their hearts until they began to cry. “Our own Rebbe [referring, of course, to Rebbe Reb Shmelke] told us these truths, only we refused to listen to him. We must all go to beg his forgiveness and make amends.”
They went to their Rebbe and fell on their faces, begging for forgiveness. They promised to listen and heed his words from then on – now that Rebbe Reb Elimelech had proven to them that their Rebbe’s words were true.
Having accomplished his mission, Rebbe Reb Elimelech asked to be granted leave from the Rebbe Reb Shmelke and he left town.
When he left Nikolsburg, he heard another heavenly voice proclaim, “Since you have aided the Rebbe Reb Shmelke, we grant you that anyone you bless within the next twenty-four hours shall be blessed.”
Rebbe Reb Elimelech walked and walked for almost a whole day, and yet he did not encounter a single Jew to bless. The Rebbe cried before Hashem, “Here You have given to me this gift for twenty-four hours and whom will I bless with it?” Suddenly, he saw a woman walking in the field and immediately he began blessing her. She became frightened and fled. The Rebbe called after her, “Do not be afraid! I am not an evil man, Heaven forbid. Tell me: where are you from and what is your occupation?” She stopped running and answered his questions, then allowed Rebbe Reb Elimelech to finish blessing her and they each went on their way.
When the woman arrived home, she told her husband about the stranger and his blessings. Sure enough, their fortune turned for the better, and their standard of living grew until they were quite wealthy. Seeing the result of the Tzaddik’s blessing, the couple believed that this man had been Eliyahu HaNovi in disguise, for they saw with their own eyes that all their handiwork was blessed. This couple established a fine home with servants in the city, and the wealthy man gave his servants permission to distribute donations up to a gold dinar without even consulting him.
Time passed, and Rebbe Reb Elimelech and his brother Rebbe Reb Zusha were traveling together, collecting charity to free captives, when they heard about this wealthy and charitable man. They traveled to his city and called on him, and his servants came to give them a donation. They refused the amount the servants offered, though they were being offered a golden dinar. They insisted on seeing the affluent man himself.
When they entered the rich man’s home, his wife saw them and recognized Rebbe Reb Elimelech. She was so overcome that she fainted, causing a great commotion in the household. When she came to, she told her husband that this man was Eliyahu HaNovi who had blessed her several years earlier.
Rebbe Reb Elimelech immediately declared that he was not Eliyahu HaNovi, and he had not come to take away their wealth, Heaven forbid. On the contrary, he was happy to see that his blessings bore fruit. The wealthy man asked them how much they needed to collect to redeem the captives. “Five hundred coins,” they said. The rich man left the room and soon returned with the entire sum. But they refused his generous gift, saying that they wanted to let other Jews have a hand in the merit of this great mitzva.
After much entreaty and pleading by the rich man, they accepted from him half the amount. (Sichos Tzaddikim 17).
