Sefer Otzar Hasipurim (Chelek 3, Ois 9) relates that when Rav Aron Leib of Premishlan zy”a (the father of Rav Meir of Premishlan zy”a) was a young man, he was extremely poor. Since he had no money, he was forced to hire himself out as a melamed for the sons of a wealthy man. This man was a miser. Whenever a beggar would ask for tzedakah, he would only give a very small amount.
This bothered Rav Aron Leib a lot, so he told his employer that he should give a larger donation to each poor person and deduct the difference from his salary. Shortly before Rosh Hashanah, when it was time for Aron Leib to return home, he sat down with the householder to calculate how much he was owed for his year of work.
After deducting all the money that was given to tzedakah, however, it was determined that he actually owed the man two gold coins. Since he owed him money, the man took his talis and tefillin as “collateral” to make sure that he paid his debt. As he traveled home, a fellow traveler noticed that he didn’t have his talis and tefillin with him. When he inquired about it, Rav Aron Leib told him that he had to leave it with the baalhabos because he owed him money.
The other traveler immediately gave him two coins to pay back his debt. He ran back to retrieve his talis and tefillin and then continued on his way back home. When he arrived in his town, he was too embarrassed to go home empty-handed. Therefore, he went to the local bais medrash and sat down to learn.
When his wife heard that her husband was there, she sent her son to bring him home. When he walked into his house, he found a gold coin laying on the floor. He said to himself, “If Hashem wants to give me a coin, He can put it into my hand. He doesn’t need to put it on the floor!”
He left the coin on the floor and did not pick it up. A few minutes later, a very wealthy man entered his house to bring him a lot of good food. When he saw the gold coin on the floor, he picked it up and put it in Rav Aron Leib’s hand. He then agreed to take it.
Reprinted from the Parshas Chayei Sarah 5785 edition of The Way of Emunah: Collected Thoughts from Rabbi Meir Isamar Rosenbaum.
