The shul was already empty, and the shamash (attendant) was about to close up. He saw these two forlorn fellows and asked them if they had been invited anywhere. They told him that someone had indeed invited them, but they did not know who it was. They described him as best as they could.
"It sounds like you're going to Leibel's home. I'll tell you how to get there, but be careful!" the shamash told them. He didn't explain, but he was thinking about Leibel's vicious dogs.
Leibel had gone home before everyone else and had already started his seder as his two guests were still finding their way to his home. He had already made Kiddush and was about to say the opening lines of the Haggadah, "Ha Lachmah Anya..." -- "This is the bread of affliction that our ancestors ate in the land of Egypt. All who are hungry, let them come and eat, all who are needy let them come and join us in,..." just as his two guests were about to open the gate.
And then Leibel saw himself sitting at his Seder table and the words and letters of 'Ha Lachmah Anya' leaving his mouth and beginning to ascend to Heaven. Suddenly one of his guard dogs jumped up and with a great snarl snatched the word "Ha" right out of the air and devoured it. And then the second dog ferociously leapt up and snatched the word "Lachmah" before it rose and it too devoured the word.
And so it was with every word that he said. Why? Because at the very moment that he was reciting the words of the Haggadah about inviting the poor and needy, his two guard dogs were ferociously attacking his poor guests. The guests barely got away and ran for their lives.
Now Leibel realized what the Baal Shem Tov meant when he said that some the words of the Haggadah recited at some Seders had never ascended to Heaven. He grew faint and passed out on the floor. The chasidim revived him.
Later that evening, during a personal meeting with the Baal Shem Tov, he humbly asked for guidance in doing tshuvah (repenting and returning to better behavior). He felt very embarrassed to look at the Baal Shem Tov, but the Rebbe's love and words of encouragement restored his confidence.
Needless to say, Leibel came home a much more humble and joyous servant of G-d Almighty, and from that time on, he was a faithful follower of the Baal Shem Tov.
Source: AscentofSafed.com Excerpted by Yerachmiel Tilles from the free adaptation by Tzvi-Meir Cohn on his website, baalshemtov.com, based on a story told by Rabbi Sholom Brod.
