The following tale is told about the close relationship between the Tshernobler Maggid and the Bas Ayin on one of their joint ventures:
“Please – I would be honored if your presence would grace our bris milah,” the host said, extending his warm welcome to the honored Tzaddikim, Rav Avrohom Dov and Rav Mordechai Czernobler.
The father honored the Czernobler Maggid to serve as Sandak and hold the baby during the bris milah. “I would be honored indeed to serve as the Sandak,” replied the Maggid, “on one condition: that you prepare a seudas mitzvah – a feast to celebrate the occasion.”
“Please, Rebbe, I am sorry, but I am not a wealthy man. I barely earn enough money as it is. My entire weekly salary amounts to the meager sum of five gulden (seventy-five kopecks) and this is my entire livelihood. I have already received my salary this week and spent it all on my household needs and expenses, and I have not a kopeck left,” he concluded sadly.
“I insist that you prepare a seudah and I suggest that you borrow the money from your boss. Go and ask him for an advance equal to the cost of the food for the seuda and ask him to diminish your wages week by week until he recovers the amount owed. Here – allow me to make a contribution as well.”
And so saying, the Maggid counted out a handsome sum and handed it to the father of the baby boy. The father did as the Czernobler Maggid advised, and they held a beautiful bris and a nice seudas mitzvah in its honor.
“Now let me explain the reasons behind my intentions and why I insisted on this seudah,” the Maggid explained. “The Evil One, the Soton, is known as the Samech Mem, the initials of his angelic name. These initials are the same initials as the statement that one should refrain from making a feast – seudas mitzvah ein la’asos – samech mem alef and lamed. The Evil One is crafty; he has succeeded in preventing many people from preparing seudos mitzva in honor of completing tracts of Talmud – known as seudas siyum maseches. Now he has turned his sights on the seudas bris milah to try to uproot these as well. I will stand up to him and stop him from carrying out his scheme! I will put out both his eyes!” declared the Czernobler Maggid fervently.
The Bas Ayin agreed and added, “This is how the archangel Michoel also defeated the Evil One, the Samech Mem. When the Samech Mem prides himself on how he has succeeded nowadays in convincing people to sin and how they listen to him, the archangel Michoel replies, “You fool! Do you think that when these people transgress they do so willingly and happily? They do not listen to you wholeheartedly at all! What proof is there? Just look at how they go about their actions. Did you ever hear of someone preparing a festive meal to mark the occasion of their sins and transgressions? But when it comes to mitzvos, the opposite is clearly true. Just look at what joy accompanies their wholehearted observance and fulfillment of mitzvos. The proof is clearly demonstrated by their actions after the mitzvah. For example, a father makes a bris mila for his baby. Right after the circumcision ceremony he gathers together all his best friends and relatives to celebrate and prepares a lavish feast to celebrate the occasion!”
The Bas Ayin also had a close and warm relationship with the Maggid’s son and the rest of the Rebbes from the Czernoble dynasty, including the Trisker and Czerkasser Rebbes. In fact, the Bas Ayin once revealed to one of his talmidim that one of the reasons propelling him toward the decision to leave his homeland and birthplace and make the move to the holy land was this close, warm connection to the Czernobler Rebbe’s family. There is a well-known rule that there can only be one ruler of a kingdom at a time, and the Bas Ayin saw his own post and station as Rav as encroaching on the rights of the Czernobler Rebbes’ boundaries as the rightful Rabbonim and rulers of the locale.
