A young man who wanted to travel to Germany on business came to ask R’ Moshe of Lelov for his blessing. Instead, R’ Moshe opened his desk drawer, handed him a small wooden shot glass, saying, “Take this cup with you when you leave on your business venture. It will bring you protection and success.”
The surprised young man took the cup and packed it with his belongings. He borrowed money to buy merchandise, and set off on the road alone. En route, he was attacked by a fierce bandit. With a trembling heart, the young man handed over his purse.
“Now I have to kill you,” said the bandit, brandishing his sword, “so you do not go running to the police.”
Whispered a Silent Prayer
The young man begged for his life, to no avail. Suddenly, he remembered R’ Moshe’s wooden shot glass “for protection.” He thought, “What does one do with a shot glass?”
He turned to the bandit and said, “You would not refuse the last request of a dying man, would you? I have a flask of whiskey in my bag. Let us drink a glass together before I die!”
The bandit could not refuse. The young man filled the wooden shot glass with liquor from his pack. As he did, he whispered a silent prayer, “Holy Rebbe, you blessed me with protection and success. Please, I need protection now, more than ever.”
R’ Moshe’s holy visage swam before his eyes. The young man felt as though R’ Moshe was standing right in front of him. A sense of great serenity enveloped him. He was certain that Hashem was with him. The smell of the whiskey intoxicated the robber. He grabbed the shot glass and downed its contents in a single gulp. The young man quickly, with all his strength, rammed the shot glass deep into the robber’s throat.
It wedged there and the bandit began to gasp for air. He stumbled around helplessly, and finally fell lifeless to the ground. Afraid that the rest of the gang would soon appear, the young man lifted the corpse onto his wagon and covered it with straw. He then emptied the robber’s bag into his own, regaining his stolen funds, and set off.
Found the Townsmen Standing Around a Large Poster
“Once I get to a Jewish settlement, I will figure out what to do,” he thought. At the very next village, he found the townsmen standing around a large poster. It was a notice from the king promising a rich reward to whoever helped to capture a dangerous highwayman, dead or alive.
The young man immediately recognized the description, and headed for the local authorities. He showed them the dead highwayman in his wagon, and received the reward. He now had the reward money, his own money returned, and the spoils he found on the robber. In the blink of any eye, he had become a wealthy man, all through R’ Moshe’s blessing and his little wooden shot glass.
When the Jews of the town heard of this miracle, they offered a tremendous sum for the shot glass – even the local authorities wanted to purchase it for their museum – but the young man refused. He drove his wagon to the local fair, purchased the highest quality goods, and returned to his town to make a hefty profit.
As for the shot glass, he passed it down to his descendants as a family heirloom. The tzaddik R’ Shimon Biderman, a descendant of R’ Moshe of Lelov, heard the story many years later and was shown the shot glass by one of the man’s descendants.
Reprinted from the Parshas Shemos 5784 email of The Weekly Vort. Excerpted from the book “A Chassidic Journey” by Irvin M Asher and Shalom Meir Valach.
