Yom Kippur would not begin until the end of the following day, but the journey to Mezhibuzh, the town where the Baal Shem Tov lived, was so long, that a certain Chasid decided to set out early. Just to be sure, he traveled all day and all night, and by daybreak on Erev Yom Kippur, he was only a few miles away from his destination.
He said to himself, “Now that I am so near the end of my journey, and my poor old horse must be exhausted after such a long stretch, this is a good time for me to take a break and Daven Shacharis. The horse can eat some grass and take it easy for a while.”
However, after he Davened, he realized how tired he was, and he thought, “Maybe I should take a nap here for an hour or two. The horse can rest too, and then we’ll still have plenty of time to get to town before midday.”
With that, he fell asleep in his wagon. He was overtaken by a deep slumber, and slept soundly until it was dark out. When he awoke, he realized that Yom Kippur had already started, and he was very upset. What a bitter disappointment! He had gone to such trouble and put in so much effort in order to make his exhausting journey so that he could spend this holy day in the presence of the Baal Shem Tov, and here he was, only a few miles out of Mezhibuzh, stranded out in the fields, alone, and he was also without a Minyan for Davening!
All that night and throughout the next day he cried, full of anguish. Night came, and Yom Kippur was over. He got his horse ready and quickly rode off to Mezhibuzh, where he was greeted by the Baal Shem Tov.
A smile lit up on the face of the Tzadik, and he said, “You should know, my good man, that with your Tefilos, you elevated up to Shamayim all the Tefilos of those people who had to Daven out in the fields, who throughout this day did not join any Minyan for Davening. That is why Divine Providence arranged things that you should spend Yom Kippur out in the fields!”
Reprinted from the Yom Kippur 5782 email of Rabbi Yehuda Winzelberg’s Torah U’ Tefilah.
