The Alter Rebbe
One of the well-known stories about the Alter Rebbe (Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi, 1745-1812) is that once, when he was visiting the town of Homil, there was a fire that was being fueled by powerful winds and it was ravaging the houses and everything in its path; nothing was exempt from its fury. People were fearful that the entire town would burn, so the army dispatched soldiers with instructions to help the populace contain and extinguish the fire before it did any more damage. However, by the time they arrived it was burning out of control; there was nothing they could do.
One of the chassidim ran and informed the Alter Rebbe, who then went over to the fire and stared at it. The winds suddenly changed directions, now blowing towards the area that burned already, and the fire began extinguishing itself, until it died out completely.
The soldiers that were there couldn’t believe their eyes. Either this person was a miracle worker, or a wizard. But, whatever it was, they were flabbergasted and returned to their base and excitedly told their general about it. Hearing this, the general asked that they go to the rabbi and ask him if he would be so kind to accept a visit from their general. He would like to meet the man whose eyes are stronger than legions of men and machinery. The Alter Rebbe replied in the affirmative and a time for the meeting was set.
When the general came and saw the Alter Rebbe, he asked in astonishment “Are you still alive?” The Alter Rebbe replied, “You are mistaken, I am his spiritual grandson.” Hearing this reply the general was satisfied and said, “Just as I thought,” and their meeting concluded.
The Chassidim who overheard this exchange were mystified by the cryptic words of the question (and answer), so they asked the general to please explain.
He happily obliged and said, “Allow me to answer by relating a story I heard from my father.”
“My father was a general in the Czar’s army and was often away from home. However, my mother would always write to him. One time when my mother was pregnant, my father had to go to the town of Mezibuzh, which was quite a distant place from his city, for war maneuvers. Being that the country was then at war, they severely limited the delivery of any mail, and as the weeks and, indeed months, passed by without receiving any letter from her, he was becoming nervous and perhaps even distraught. He almost became paralyzed with fear.”
“His men cared for him and informed him that there was a miracle worker in this town and perhaps the general should go visit him and ask him about his family. My father sent a message to the rabbi asking if either the rabbi can come to him or if he can come to the rabbi. The rabbi replied, ‘If the general needs something, he will accept a visit from him.’”
“When he entered the rabbi’s house, the rabbi gave my father a mirror and told him to look into it. My father was bewildered by this request, expecting to see his own reflection; however, he followed the instructions and looked into the mirror.”
“How shocked he was when instead of seeing himself in this house, he saw himself leaving the town and then flying over forests and rivers, passing over the large city of Kiev and then arriving at his hometown of Homil. He then came to the outskirts of his large estate, entered the gardens and came to the gate of his courtyard. He then heard one servant inform the other that the general’s wife just gave birth to a baby boy. Then the mirror became blank and all he saw was himself.”
“The rabbi, whom you all know as the Baal Shem Tov, then said to my father, ‘In a few days a messenger will arrive and inform you that your wife gave birth to a healthy son,’ and I,” concluded the general, “am that son. Seeing all this, my father thanked the Baal Shem Tov profusely and returned to the base.”
“When I heard about this miracle, I thought, ‘Is it possible that that great rabbi is still alive, as he is the only one that I thought had such a power.’ Your rabbi replied that he is his spiritual grandson, but meeting a disciple’s disciple, and seeing that he maintains that same greatness was inspiring and I was grateful to have the honor of meeting him.”
Reprinted from the Parshas V’Eira 5785 email of The Weekly Story by Rabbi Sholom DovBer Avtzon.
