THE WEDDING AT THE INN
When the two brothers the Rebbe Reb Elimelech and the Rebbe Reb Zisha were wandering disguised as beggars in self-imposed exile, they spent the night in a kretchma, an inn, in which a wedding was being celebrated. The two brothers were among the poor people who had gathered to partake of some of the food, as was the custom in those days.
The wedding guests were a rough and crass bunch. Their spirits were merry from drink, and they began to poke fun at the unfortunate poor people. After each round of dancing, they summarily snatched up a poor man, threw him to the ground, and honored him with a string of abuse. Then they would start another round of dancing, throw the poor beggar once more to the ground, and treat him to another round of slaps and punches.
Since the Rebbe Reb Zisha was sitting nearest to the crowd, he was the honored recipient of the abuse. Rebbe Elimelech, sitting in the corner, was left alone while his hapless brother suffered the brunt of the abuse. In truth, Rebbe Elimelech was quite jealous of the suffering his brother had merited, for he was being given the opportunity to atone for his sins. He decided it was his turn to receive such an “opportunity.” He waited until Reb Zisha was sitting down after another bout of abuse and the crowd was busy dancing. He whispered into Reb Zisha’s ear, “My beloved brother, let us switch places. Sit here on my seat and I will sit on yours, and then you can rest a bit from the beatings you have received.”
They quickly switched places, and the rowdy group came again to snatch their victim. They were about to drag the Rebbe Reb Elimelech for a beating when one of the group shouted, “It isn’t fair to keep beating only this guest. Let us take that one who is sitting in the corner and honor him with a few blows so that he will be sure to remember this wedding!”
Sure enough, they once more grabbed the poor Reb Zisha from the corner thinking that he had not yet tasted a beating. After they had finished, the Rebbe Reb Zisha said to his brother, “See, my beloved brother, whoever is destined to be struck will be struck wherever he sits. They seek him out and deal him his due portion.” (Ohel Elimelech 177).
