This story was written based on sefer Iggeres Keitz Chai (p. 12) by Rav Yisrael Nosson Brukstein, the Rav of Pusin, the son of Rav Chaim Yosef of Pistin, author of Tosafos Chaim, and a descendent of Rav Yitzchak Chayut, author of Zera Yitzchak on Mishnayos. The sefer was printed in the city of Chernowitz, Ukraine, in 5622.
There are many lofty and esoteric stories associated with Rav Yitzchak Chayut, ztz”l, a famed sage in his day who was proficient in all parts of Torah, and who served for many years as the Rav of the community of Sekulah, in Galicia. The Pnei Yehoshua describes him in an approbation for his sefer: “Harav Hagaon Hagadol hamefursam bador...whose reputation has spread around the world.” Many talmidim from Galicia and its environs flocked to learn Torah from him and to listen to his holy words.
Rav Yitzchak Chayut authored numerous works in his lifetime, many of them deep writings on all parts of Torah, including Toras Hasod, but he did not print them in his lifetime and many of them never got published. His commentary on Mishnayos, entitled Zera Yitzchak, was published by his son, Rav Eliezer, who testified that his father made the effort to come to him in a dream from the World of Truth and urged him to complete the work of printing his writings. A few generations later, one of his descendants printed his commentary on sefer Tehillim.
At some point in his life, Rav Yitzchak lost his sight and he remained this way for six years, but the blindness did not prevent him from continuing to instruct his talmidim and to teach them from his phenomenal memory and expansive knowledge. After six years, following a remarkable story described in Iggeres Keitz Chai, his holy eyes suddenly regained their ability to see in a most wondrous manner.
One of the wondrous stories related about Rav Yitzchak Chayut has to do with the town of Drohobitz, to which he moved towards the end of his life. A local Yid, a wealthy man, named Shmuel Biness, had many thriving businesses and was blessed with abundant wealth and connections with senior government authorities. He would give large sums of money to Torah scholars and their families and did what he could to help them.
Shmuel Biness considered it a great merit to provide generously for Rav Yitzchak Chayut, and was at his service whenever needed. Rav Yitzchak was very grateful and expressed his hakaras hatov at every opportunity. A short time before his passing from this world, Rav Yitzchak asked his students to summon Shmuel to his beside. When Shmuel Biness heard that Rav Yitzchak was calling him, he quickly closed up his business and hurried over.
When Rav Yitzchak saw Shmuel standing at the door to his room, he asked him to come closer, near his head. After greeting him with words of gratitude and blessing for his loyalty for so many years, and for his dedication to Torah scholars in Drohobitz, Rav Yitzchak closed his eyes and made the most exceptional promise.
“Whenever you need something, you can come to my resting place and pray and ask, and I will be at your side to advocate for you in front of the Kisei Hakavod that your wishes be fulfilled from Above.” Shmuel Biness emotionally thanked the Rav for his promised, and departed.
And Rav Yitzchak’s promise was fulfilled! Whenever Shmuel had a request, he headed for the cemetery, placed his head on the holy matzeivah, and offered a tefillah – and all his tefillos were accepted. Shmuel saw tremendous success, his home was filled with Haehm’s blessings and his life hummed along smoothly.
But over the years, the yetzer hara did an insidious job on Shmuel and he strayed from the right path. He became a money-hungry, greedy man who did not hesitate to inform on his brethren at the cost of risking their lives and their livelihoods. If that was not enough, no one in the community was able to stop him, because whenever he was in trouble, he headed for the kever of Rav Yitzchak Chayut, davened there, mentioned his merit, and the tzaddik was faithful to his brachah and kept the promise – that his tefillah would be accepted and Hashem would help him succeed.
After one excessively evil incident involving Shmuel Biness, the members of the community came to the conclusion that as long as the tzaddik was at his side, there was no chance of overcoming his cruelty and evil deeds. He would always come out on top. The heads of the community convened and came to a decision: Ten talmidei chachamim would go to the tziyun of the tzaddik, and would ask him for compassion and to please forgive them, but that he should no longer daven from Gan Eden for the success of Shmuel, who was taking advantage of this promise to do bad things, to inform on his brethren to the authorities, and to do everything in his power to harm them.
Just a few days after their awe-filled tefillah, Shmuel go int trouble with the authorities, and a brigade of district policemen were sent to arrest him and bring him to court. When Shmuel realized that the worst was happening to him, he hurried, as he usually did, to the cemetery to plead at the tziyun of the tzaddik, confident that the tzaddik would fulfill his promise and effect a yeshuah for him.
When he entered the cemetery, he turned down the familiar path, but he could not find Rav Yitzchak’s matzeivah! He looked this way and that, among the pathways and kevarim, and then pinched himself to make sure he wasn’t dreaming. But his work was for naught, the tzaddik’s matzeivah had disappeared as if it had never been there.
When he realized that all hope was lost, he returned home, dejected and humiliated. There, the officers were already waiting for him, and they handcuffed him hand and foot and hauled him off to prison.
A tremendous miracle took place at the time in Drohobitz - the holy matzeivah could not be found, and thus the townspeople finally got rid of the threat of Shmuel Biness, without the tzaddik violating his holy promise that he would advocate for him whenever Shmuel davened at his kever.
