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Weekly Chasidic Story #957 (s5776-29 / 18 Adar B 5776) Signs of a Kosher Host Two Chassidim whose rebbe had passed away traveled to visit Rabbi Meir of
Premishlan in order to decide whether or not to choose him as their new
rebbe. Connection: Weekly Reading -- "Cud-chewers and Hoof-splitters"
Signs of a Kosher Host
Two Chassidim whose rebbe had passed away traveled to visit the tzadik Rabbi Meir of Premishlan in order to decide whether or not to choose him as rebbe for themselves and for their fellow Chassidim. They arrived at Premishlan just in time for candle-lighting, on the eve of a Shabbat on which the weekly Portion of Shemini was read. They did not even have enough time to order meals for Shabbat at a hotel, but went straight to the synagogue of the rebbe. After prayers each of them was invited to the home of one of the local householders. One of the hosts was accustomed to eating very little, so his guest, though ravenously hungry, could hardly bring himself to eat a square meal in his presence. The other host ate, but did not slice the challah that was on the table, and since his guest did not take the liberty of slicing it for himself, he too remained hungry. After the meal they both came to the tish [Yiddish: table-i.e. After-meal gathering] of the Rebbe at which he presided until after midnight. When it was over, they went to one of the local hotels and asked the proprietor if he had anything for them to eat. He explained that he only had a place for them to sleep, but since there were hungry he would give them some leftovers that required no preparations. After the Shabbat morning prayers they went home with the same hosts, and exactly the same story repeated itself. In the afternoon they came to the synagogue of the Rebbe for the Shabbat Afternoon prayer, but Rabbi Meir was not yet there. Assuming that he was doubtless studying Torah in his room, they went to his house, but his attendant told them that he was out in the courtyard. They went out and, sure enough, Rabbi Meir was there - telling his attendant to feed the geese and chickens. When that was done, he said: "Let us go and pray Mincha." The guests were stupefied: throughout the entire Shabbat they had heard not a solitary word of Torah from his mouth. To make things worse, they had now seen what kind of spiritual preparations he made for his afternoon prayer. Besides, they were hungry, so they decided not to go to the Third Meal of the Rebbe, and to try their luck once again at the homes of their respective hosts. Their hosts were not at home though: they had gone to the tish of the rebbe, so their would-be guests had no option but to go there too. As soon as they arrived the Rebbe said: "Where are the two young men who are seeking a rebbe who is possessed of divine inspiration?" There was no answer. Again the Rebbe asked: "Where are they? Why are they hiding from me?" Not a word in reply. The third time he said: "if they don't come before me at once, they will regret it." The two guests approached him shamefacedly, and he greeted them and asked: "Where did you eat your Shabbat meals?" When they named their hosts, Rabbi Meir called them to him and said softly: "The Torah gives us a mitzvah of hospitality - but one has to know how to conduct oneself when one has guests. When one invites a guest, the host should slice bread generously on the table to that his guest should not be obliged to do so or be too embarrassed to help himself. And even if a host does this, if he himself does not eat, his guest will not feel comfortable eating in his presence. "There is a hint of this in today's Portion of the Torah: "the pig, for he does slice the bread…" [actually, 'divide the hoof,' but here punningly mistranslated: parsa means 'hoof'; parusa means 'slice']; "…but does not chew the cud,…" that is, he himself does not eat; "…he is unclean unto you"; "the camel does chew the cud, but does not 'slice the bread'; he is likewise unclean unto you." Only one that does both is a kosher creature! "And now," added the tzadik, "these two young men are no doubt very hungry. We should give them something to eat." With that, he gave each of them a slice of his Shabbat loaf with a piece of fish on it. He went on to deliver a discourse, in the course of which he intimated to the two guests the mystical explanation for his having fed the poultry during the afternoon. None of those present understood his references to the cloven hoof and the chewed cud, nor his abstruse discourse - except the two hosts and their guests. And on Saturday night, when the holy Shabbat had drawn to a close, the two
visitors to Premishlan recounted the whole story, and concluded: "Here
we have found a rebbe on whom rests ruach hakodesh, the spirit of G-d."
Source: Adapted by Yerachmiel Tilles from A Treasury of Chassidic Tales (Artscroll), as translated by R. Uri Kaploun from Sipurei Chasidim by Rabbi S. Y. Zevin. Biographical note: Connection: Weekly Reading -- "Cud-chewers and Hoof-splitters" To receive the Story by e-mail every Wednesday--sign up here! A 48 page soft-covered booklet containing eleven of his most popular stories may be ordered on our store site.
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Yerachmiel
Tilles is co-founder and associate director of Ascent-of-Safed, and chief editor
of this website (and of KabbalaOnline.org). He has hundreds of published stories
to his credit, and many have been translated into other languages. He tells
them live at Ascent nearly every Saturday night.