Already at a young age, Reb Avraham had the affection of the Beis Halevi. When Avraham was six years old, the Beis Halevi was brought to Brisk, Avraham’s hometown, to serve as its Rav, and as the years went on, the respect only grew. The Beis Halevi’s family relayed that there were only two “baalebatim” who the Rav entrusted, one of them being Reb Avraham. The two families grew very close.
Reb Avraham would awake every day to daven vasikin, which was prefaced by a seder of learning that started at chazos.
One wintery Friday, before WWI, the Eidelman’s heard thumping on their front door. There were two scary-looking government officials staring them in the eye. “We are here to imprison the homeowner — Avraham Eidelman.”
“Imprison him? For what?” the family asked.
“The front lawn was neglected, and he must therefore go to prison.” (The city of Brisk, along with some surrounding cities, had a regulation that the cleanliness of the city’s streets was the responsibility of the homeowners. This meant that the regular townsmen had to shovel the snow, rid the garbage etc. of the street bordering their property. The government appointed officers to enforce the law and made sure that everybody obeyed.)
The Eidelman children were frantic. “Prison, for not maintaining a lawn?!”
Mrs. Eidelman began pleading, “We’ve hired help to maintain the orderliness of our home, but he got drunk, leaving our home and the lawn a dump.” (At that time the Eidelman family lived comfortably, able to afford cleaning help to maintain the house.) But unsurprisingly, the words fell on deaf ears.
Rebbetzin Slava, Reb Avraham’s wife, offered to fill her prestigious husband’s decree, but the officers wouldn’t hear of it.
Reb Avraham was thus arrested and taken to the prison. Before departing, his rebbetzin filled a bag with Shabbos delicacies to make the best of the tzaddik’s ordeal.
But that bag only made his stay more miserable. As he got to the custodial, all the internees charged at him to rob the food he was carrying, as many of them hadn’t met up with such luxurious foods in many years. Losing that food would mean a lot to Reb Avraham, for besides losing his Shabbos meals, he would have no other kosher food. The prison wasn’t serving custom-made meals for their convicts.
But, with the help of Hashem, this disappointment was short-lasting. From the other end of the cell, they heard a thunderous voice: “Don’t you start up with this man! Woe to the one who takes even a morsel of food, for I will take revenge!”
That was all they had to hear, and they backed off.
The dark-looking criminal then approached Reb Avraham and welcomed him with a Shalom Aleichem. “Do you remember me?”
“No. Who are you?” asked Reb Avraham.
The inmate reiterated how, many years ago, there had been an unhandsome fellow collecting tzedakah in the shul. The congregants tried sending him out, but he refused. He was planning to stay until he’d get his necessary funds, however long it would take, and only then would he leave.
The congregants spoke amongst themselves and agreed that the way they’d get him to leave was by not inviting him to any Shabbos seudah. So, as the shul was emptying on Friday night, no one invited this pauper, and he watched as the whole shul emptied out, nobody caring to acknowledge him. He felt embarrassed and low. Only the very last person, Reb Avraham Eidelman, ignored the other townsmen and kindheartedly showed that collector proper respect and dignity by inviting him to his seudah.
“You know who that beggar was?” the inmate then asked Reb Avraham. “That was me! You were the only one who showed me respect at that humiliating time. You made me feel like a human, and now I’m here to ensure that you’re repaid at your humiliating time.”
“But what brings you here?” asked Reb Avraham.
“At that time, my income was meager, and I needed food to support my wife and children, so I started robbing horses. They’ve caught on to this last robbery, and I’ve been confined ever since.”
This inmate assured Reb Avraham that throughout his “visit,” he’d stand nearby to safeguard the protection of Reb Avraham, and so he did. For the next few days the inmate stood at Reb Avraham’s side leaving him a serene stay. (Shared by R’ Lipa Hess, a descendant of Reb Avraham, author of Hilchos Erev Pesach Sechal BeShabbos)
