#506 (s5767-45 / 17 Menachem-Av 5767)

At Least One Little Prayer, Please

Berel was bitterly disappointed when he learned the Chernobyl Rebbe would not stay in his house this time.

At Least One Little Prayer, Please


To be rich was never Berel's ambition. He was a plain Jew, quite satisfied with what he had. When he prayed to G-d three times a day, he prayed for many things: good health; good children; that G-d would put more sense into his head to understand Torah, and more feeling into his heart when doing the commandments. But riches? It never even occurred to him to pray for such a thing. Thank G-d, he had a good wife, nice children, and he was making a modest living. Could anyone wish for more?

Berel lived in a little town called Chasnik, not far from Chernobil, where the great rebbe, the saintly Rabbi Mordechai Chernobiler, lived. Berel was his chasid, and he went there several times a year to get a spiritual boost. On such occasions he would take with him the money he had put aside for charity to leave with the Rebbe, who would know where it would do the most good.

One day the town of Chasnik went agog with excitement. Word was received that the Chernobiler Rebbe was coming on one of his rare visits. Berel was especially excited, for the Rebbe usually stayed in his house. However, Berel was soon bitterly disappointed. He learned the Rebbe would not stay in his house this time. Worse still, the Rebbe let it be known that Berel was not to appear before him, either in private audience, or with others. Furthermore, Berel was not to come to the Rebbe's table, nor was he to be among those to welcome him on arrival, or to see him off on departure!

The Rebbe had made it very clear that nothing would make him change his mind except one thing: If Berel would come with 2,000 rubles --a veritable fortune in those days-- in his pocket and place it on the Rebbe's table for charity; then, and only then, would he be restored as the favored chasid he had always been!

Poor Berel was quite bewildered. And upset. Surely the Rebbe knew his financial position. If he would sell his house with all that was in it he could not raise half the amount the Rebbe expected of him. What had he done to deserve such punishment?

The thought of being so completely shunned by his beloved and revered rebbe was too much for Berel to bear. For once in his lifetime he wished he were a rich man, and for the first time in his life he now prayed with all his heart that G-d would make him rich, so that he could bring the Rebbe 2,000 rubles for charity.

The Rebbe had come and gone. All the Chasidim of Chasnik had welcomed the Rebbe with joy and dancing, had sat spellbound listening to his inspiring words, had received his blessings, and had seen him off dancing in the street. Berel sat alone in his house, feeling hurt and miserable. However, he didn't give up hope that G-d would accept his prayer and make him rich if for no other reason than that he should be able to be reunited with his rebbe.

Sometime later, there was excitement in Chasnik, but this time it was more like a panic. A battalion of invading soldiers was passing through town, and the town's people were ordered to quarter the soldiers. Several armed soldiers arrived at Berel's house and announced that they were going to spend the night there. They carried a heavy chest, which they placed in a closet. The soldiers were very tired from their long march, and they were soon fast asleep.
In the middle of the night an alarm was sounded. The half sleepy soldiers scrambled out of the house in a great hurry, and made off with all their comrades. A few hours later, a troop of some twenty soldiers returned and combed the town, looking for the chest which had been forgotten when they responded to the alarm.

Several times the soldiers passed Berel's house, but never entered to search it. After hours of fruitless searching, the troop left again.

Days later, Berel noticed the chest in the little-used closet. Months passed and Berel had almost forgotten about the chest when he noticed it again. Since nobody came to claim it, he decided to look inside. He was amazed to find it filled with money, in paper and coins, and realized that it was evidently the treasury of the invading battalion. The thought came to Berel's mind that G-d must have, after all, accepted his prayer and made him rich! Berel immediately counted out 2,000 rubles and left immediately for Chernobil. With a happy smile on his face, Berel came to the Rebbe and placed the money on his table. The Rebbe did not seem very surprised, though he was obviously pleased.

"Where did you get the money, Berel?" the Rebbe asked. Berel told him.

The Rebbe than said to Berel, "It had been revealed to me that you were designated for a big fortune. The only hindrance was that you had never prayed for riches. In Heaven they wanted to hear a prayer from you, at least one little prayer, that you wanted to be rich. So I decided to help out and stimulate you a lit. The rest you know. Now that your prayer was accepted and you have become a rich man, I suggest that you move to a larger town and become a wholesale merchant, and G-d will bless you with success. However, remember, Berel; riches can be a more severe test than poverty. Be careful that you should be worthy of G-d's trust in you."
~~~~~~~~~~
[Adapted by Yrachmiel Tilles from the rendition on www.lchaimweekly.org (#717), with permission.]

Biographical note:
Rabbi Mordechai ("Mottel") of Chernobyl [1770 - 20 Iyar 1837], successor to his father, Rabbi Nachum, was the son-in-law of Rabbi Aharon the Great of Karlin and subsequently of Rabbi David Seirkes. His eight sons all became major Chasidic leaders.


Yrachmiel Tilles is co-founder and associate director of Ascent-of-Safed, and editor of Ascent Quarterly and the AscentOfSafed.com and KabbalaOnline.org websites. He has hundreds of published stories to his credit.

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