Rav Mordechai Banet
Rav Chaim Kanievsky, zt”l, writes this story in Sefer Siach Nechamah (page 192). Rav Mordechai Banet, zt”l, was the Rav of Nikolsburg for many years. Though he was old and weak, he agreed to travel to the city of Carlsbad to attend an important meeting of Rabbanim. However, the trip turned out to be too much for him, and he passed away while he was in Carlsbad.
The day he passed away was on an Erev Shabbos, and in order that his burial not be delayed, his Levaya and burial took place in the city where he died.
The people of Nikolsburg were very upset about this, and wanted their beloved Rav to be buried in the city he had served so faithfully for so long, so that they would be able to regularly visit his Kever.
In spite of this, the people of Carlsbad refused to comply. They wrote a letter to the Chasam Sofer, the Gadol HaDor, to rule on the question of where Rav Banet should be buried. There was a delay of a few months in his response, but finally, the Chasam Sofer sent a Psak, a ruling, that Rav Banet should be transferred to his hometown of Nikolsburg.
Portrait of the Chasam Sofer (Rabbi Moshe Sofer) by the artist Joseph Kriehuber
The Chasam Sofer, who would usually immediately answer all questions that came to him, especially such important ones, was later asked why it took him so long to send a response to this particular question, and he gave the following incredible explanation.
As soon as he had received the letter with the question, he sat down and wrote a lengthy answer ruling that Rav Banet’s body should be returned to Nikolsburg. However, as soon as he finished writing it, his inkwell tipped over and spilled all over the letter, and ruined everything he had just written.
The Chasam Sofer felt strongly that this was a sign from Shamayim that he should not rule to move the Rav’s body from its current burial spot, so, he simply didn’t respond at all.
Three months later the Chasam Sofer had a dream in which Rav Banet appeared to him and related, “Many years ago, I was engaged to a girl from Carlsbad, and we were engaged for three months. However, for certain reasons, I broke off the Shidduch. Since I caused pain to this Bas Yisroel, it was decreed in Shamayim that I be buried near her for three months, and for this reason, I had to pass away far from my home and be buried in that cemetery, near the grave of that girl. Now that three months have passed, my body is allowed to be transferred to Nikolsburg, where my community awaits my return.”
When the Chasam Sofer woke up, he wrote a new letter permitting the transfer of Rav Banet to his hometown, and he added an apology to his letter and wrote, “My response was delayed until now!”
Reprinted from the Parshas Noach 5786 email of Rabbi Yehuda Winzelberg’s Torah U’Tefilah.