Rav Elozor of Kozhnitz had a custom: he was very strict regarding travel on Erev Shabbos and would never travel anywhere after midday, no matter how short a distance and no matter what the circumstances – no exceptions.
Rav Elozor was once traveling home on Erev Shabbos. When they were just a few miles from their destination, the Rebbe noticed that the time of day was Chatzos. Since it was midday and the Rebbe was careful not to travel after Chatzos on Erev Shabbos, he refused to travel any further and ordered the gabbai to stop.
“We will spend Shabbos here in this village,” explained the Rebbe to the shocked gabbai. When the gabbai went to see to their lodgings, he discovered that fewer than ten Jews lived in this village and that wherever they could stay the food and provisions would be simple, meager and certainly not the Shabbos delicacies they were accustomed to for honoring Shabbos.
“Rebbe, please, we are just a few miles from home – we must continue!” declared the gabbai as the Rebbe shook his head in refusal. “But Rebbe, it’s just another half hour!” pleaded the gabbai, “and there is no food in honor of Shabbos here – they don’t even have a minyan!”
All his protests fell on deaf ears. “You know,” explained Rav Elozor calmly,”that under no circumstances do I travel after Chatzos, and so I will go no further.” So saying, the Rebbe went to immerse himself in the river to purify himself for Shabbos.
Meantime, while the Rebbe was busy preparing and immersing, the gabbai set off toward Kozhnitz. He decided that if the Rebbe was so obstinate as to stay, he could still gather Shabbos food and bring it back with time to spare. When the gabbai arrived in Kozhnitz and word spread throughout the city that the Rebbe was spending Shabbos alone with no minyan, just half an hour away, the Chassidim gathered, and scores of yungeleit and bochurim began making preparations to travel to the Rebbe. When the gabbai arrived in the small village with the Shabbos food there came with him tens of Chassidim and the Shabbos ended up being an uplifting, spiritual experience for all.
The Rebbe was greatly pleased and told the Chassidim a story:
The holy Chozeh of Lublin owned a special white bekesche that he always wore when he was honored as the mohel at a bris mila. Once, the Chassidim noticed that the Chozeh donned the special white robe even when he was not performing a bris, and as there was no circumcision the entire day, their wonder only grew. It was the custom that on Purim the talmidim were allowed to ask any questions they wished. The Chassidim asked the Chozeh, “Why did the Rebbe wear the white robe even though he wasn’t a mohel that day?” The Tzaddik answered them with a story:
There was a wealthy but miserly merchant who came to conduct some business in Lublin. He was delayed in his business and with half an hour to Shabbos he found himself in Lublin with no relatives or acquaintances where he could find lodgings to spend Shabbos. As he was stingy, he did not wish to rent a hotel room or pay for his lodgings and so, not knowing anyone, he decided after running out of any other ideas, to head to the Rebbe’s hoif. Although he was not a Chassid, he trusted the Chessed of the Rebbe and the Chassidim to provide him with food and lodgings for Shabbos for free. And so it was. On Motzoei Shabbos he headed to the Rebbe with a kvittel and a pidyon, a note of petition with his name to ask for the Rebbe’s blessing and a small donation. Paltry indeed – he was so miserly that his half-coin donation was merely symbolic. The Rebbe nonetheless accepted both his pidyon and his kvittel, blessed him and he went on his way.
After the miser passed away, his soul arose to the heavenly worlds and continued until it reached a certain point where one of the angels stopped him from continuing.
“Stop! You can go no further, explained the angel, for you have a blemish in your bris mila.”
“What? How can this be?” protested the miser. “I was once visiting the Tzaddik, the Chozeh of Lublin, whose eyes can see from one end of this world to the other; if I had a blemish wouldn’t he have let me know and rectified the matter?”
The angel took his protest and argument to the court, which ruled that he had a good point. They ruled that he had permission to ask the Rebbe for a tikkun and so he did, and that is why the Rebbe wore his white mohel’s bekesche, which he normally wore for a bris mila, since he rectified that Jew’s bris.
“And now,” concluded Rav Elozor of Kozhnitz to his Chassidim, who had come to spend Shabbos together in the village with him, “if that miser wasn’t a Chassid, and only visited the Rebbe on the pretext of saving himself the fare of a hotel lodging for the weekend, and only donated a paltry half coin as a pidyon, yet in Heaven they saw fit that the Chozeh should do him a favor and rectify him with a tikkun, just think how much more so are you true Chassidim, desiring favor and blessings, since you came specifically to spend Shabbos here with me! Just think what blessings and favors await all of you!” and he promised them all manner of berochos. (Yafe Sichoson Radomishla II p. 6:9)
