He Waited Hours and Gave Away Everything for Strings

A misnagdishe communal leader in Vilna, Reb Meir Refoel’s became an ardent chossid after witnessing two incredible mofsim by the Alter Rebbe. Despite the attacks the Vilna chassidim faced, he insisted on keeping the peace.

Reb Meir Refoel’s was a community leader in Vilna.  In the peak of the sharp opposition against chassidim, he became a chossid of the Alter Rebbe through two personal mofsim.

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Once, during a business trip, Reb Meir noticed that his tzitzis had torn and become possul. He immediately removed them and told his driver to stop, so as not to carry on four amos without tzitzis. They waited at the side of the road for several hours in the hope of encountering a passerby who would happen to be carrying tzitzis strings.

As it was getting dark outside they saw someone in the distance. Reb Meir called out to the man but he did not reply. He called louder until he was shouting, and finally, the man turned towards him.

“Do you have any tzitzis strings by any chance?” asked Reb Meir.

“And if I would,” said the man, “do you think I’m going to unload and rummage through my packed sack for just a few strings?!”

“I will pay you well,” Reb Meir assured him.

“How much?” barked the man, “A few rubles? Not worth my time! I need to get back in time before nightfall!”

“I will pay you anything you ask!” begged Reb Meir. “I will give you everything I have!”

“Alright,” said the man, “give me what you have and I will do it for you.”

Reb Meir promptly gave him all the money he was carrying and the man found the tzitzis and gave it to him.

Soon after, Reb Meir visited the Alter Rebbe. As he walked in, the Rebbe stood up and handed him the exact money he had given that man. Apparently, that man was Eliyahu HaNavi: he had come to test his commitment to that mitzva.

*

The home of Reb Meir was always full of chassidim who would come to discuss Chassidus and farbreng.  The chassidishe minyan was in his house and any chossid who came to Vilna knew that he could find lodging in the home of Reb Meir.

Reb Meir hired and housed a melamed in his home to teach his children.  The classroom and shtible were separated by only a thin wall.  The melamed, though not a chossid, could not help himself from listening to the Chassidus that was being discussed on the other side of the wall.  Reb Meir admonished him, “Why did you stop teaching the children?!”

Try as he may, the melamed could not resist listening to the Chassidus.  After a while, he approached Reb Meir, “I beg you!  Let me join your group.  What is being spoken here is mechayeh nefashos mamash (it literally brings life)!”

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Although the chassidim of Vilna suffered during the time of the great machlokes, they constantly tried to bring about peace and did not respond to their tormentors.

At one of the meetings of the chassidim, in the year 5556 (1796), some of the learned young talmidei chachomim among them decided that at this point they must begin to fight back. The chossid Reb Meir Refoels, who for many years had worked on keeping the peace, argued against this. Reb Moshe Meizels sided with the younger group and, deeply pained by all their past suffering, used strong words against his opponent.

Hearing about this, the Alter Rebbe immediately dispatched a messenger to tell the younger group that although in principle they were right, they must nevertheless act with middos tovos and ahavas Yisroel – for this was what would ultimately cause the Name of HaShem to be glorified.

Later that year, the Alter Rebbe also wrote a letter to Reb Moshe Meizels, asking him to publicly ask forgiveness from Reb Meir Refoels, “For Chazal teach that no peace will come from quarreling, and most tzores result from machlokes that is thought to be leshem Shamayim. (May HaShem protect us from it!)”

*

There was a certain chossid, whose son-in-law, left his wife, the daughter of the chossid. Three years had passed since he disappeared, and not a word was heard from him. He thus left his wife an aguna. The chossid and his daughter came to the Alter Rebbe and poured out their bitter hearts to him. They asked him for his advice and blessing.

The Alter Rebbe told them to travel to the city of Vilna and go to the elected community leader of Vilna and ask him to find her husband.

The words of the Alter Rebbe, understandably, were holy to the chassidim. Immediately, the friends of the family gathered the required amount of money to send the woman to Vilna, a city that was quite some distance from the city where her family lived. They instructed the woman that she should demand of this community leader to find her husband. They warned her further, that even if he sends her away from his house, he degrades her and embarrasses her, and even if they hit her, she should not abandon this plan which the Rebbe had directed her to do. She must not give the community leader any respite until he finds her husband. Since this is what the Rebbe said, surely her salvation will come through him.

The woman did as she was told. After much travail, she arrived in Vilna and went straight to the home of the wealthy Reb Meir Refoels, who was the elected leader of the community.  Reb Meir was at shul at that time, so the woman told the whole story to his wife. The wife laughed in her face. How then should her husband know where to find some young man who ran away from his wife and family three years prior, and especially in a city so far from where she lives.

When Reb Meir arrived home from shul his wife said to him, “It is not for naught what is being said about those Chassidim. Look at what they have done, sending a poor woman here from a faraway city, that we should return her husband to her!”

The aguna turned to Reb Meir and said, “I will not leave here until you do as I have requested and find my husband.”

Reb Meir and his wife became angry with the woman. They explained to her the impossibility of this happening. However, all their arguments fell on deaf ears. When Reb Meir saw that there was no way to get rid of her, he said to her, “Well, look, in one day, I cannot find your husband. Therefore, go now to the guest house and stay there, until we will see, what can be done.”

The woman listened and did this. But she did not let the matter rest. Every day she would come to his home and cry and scream to him, “Give me my husband!”

Reb Meir repeated this whole episode in shul. And, as you can imagine, the story of the aguna became the talk of town and fanned the flames of hatred even more.

A few days passed and Reb Meir was called upon to come quickly to the police station.  From time to time, unidentified prisoners, who did not have proper identification, would pass through the city of Vilna. The police chief would call on Reb Meir, as the community leader, to come by and identify anyone whom he could recognize.

Thus, it occurred at this time, that he was called to come when such a group landed in Vilna. When the prisoners began to call out their names and the name of the city where they were born, one of them called out the name of the city of the aguna.  Like a lightning rod, a thought occurred to Reb Meir. Quickly he ran back to his home, after asking that they should wait for him at the police station, because he would return shortly.

He sent to call the aguna and asked her to describe her husband in detail. Sure enough, the description matched exactly. Reb Meir returned to the police station together with the woman and she recognized her husband. With the efforts of Reb Meir, the prisoner was released. They went together to the rabbi of the city and the man gave his wife a get.

From this day on, the attitude of Reb Meir changed towards the chassidim. Something changed in his heart. Things are not as simple as they make it out here in Vilna, he thought. But he was still not completely convinced. Who knows, he thought, maybe this was just a lucky strike, a coincidence. Reb Meir decided not to tell anyone about what happened and to wait and see. Maybe with time the story of the chassidim and their Rebbe will be clarified for him.

It happened one day that a poor man who lived close to Vilna, came to the city of Vilna. He was a very learned person and a chossid and was walking to Liozna to the Alter Rebbe. Passing through Vilna, he decided to remain there for Shabbat. He made himself comfortable in the shul, took out a Gemara from the bookcase and sat down to learn.

The shamash realized that this passerby was not like the usual poor people.

He did not ask for a handout, ate a piece of dry bread from his satchel with some herring, and sat down once again to learn. The whole night the man was engrossed in learning Torah. On Friday, before the onset of the Shabbos, the shamash approached the guest and asked him, “Where will you be for Shabbos?” The guest responded that he was planning to remain in shul. The shamash said to him, “Why should you do this? We have, boruch Hashem, many wealthy folks who are particular to keep the mitzvah of hachnosas orchim, especially when the guest is a talmid chochom, as I see you are. Why should you stay in the synagogue and subsist on dry bread and herring for Shabbos; why would you not enjoy the mitzvah of Shabbos properly?!

The guest answered him that he does not want to go to anyone for Shabbos. He has all he needs right here with him.

The shamash told this to one of the wealthy householders who was also a Torah scholar. This person was meticulous to have a guest for Shabbos. When the rich man heard that the guest was a big Torah scholar, yet he refuses to come, he asked the rabbi of the shul to accompany him and help influence the guest to come to his house for Shabbos.  After much persuasion, the guest finally agreed to go on the condition that he would not be required to sleep over.  He desired to sleep only in the shul.

During the evening Shabbos meal, the rich man greatly enjoyed speaking with his extinguished guest words of Torah.  He saw that his guest was indeed a very learned person. He thanked G-d for sending him such a Torah scholar for a guest. When the Friday evening Shabbos meal was finished and just before the bentching, the rich man sighed a deep sigh, without uttering a word. The guest was very surprised by this but did not ask anything. After the meal the guest went back to the shul and returned to his studies.

The next day, by the Shabbos afternoon meal, the rich man and the guest again became absorbed in holy words of Torah and before bentching, the host again gave a deep and mysterious sigh. This was repeated again by the third Shabbat meal and again by the melava malka meal after Shabbos. The guest could not hold himself in any longer. He turned to his host and asked him for the reason for his heartbreaking sigh?

The rich man told him that he was in big trouble. He and his partner were victims of a libel suit which came before the court. Both were found guilty and given a verdict of three years exile in faraway Siberia. They put forth an appeal to the higher court, and also there the verdict was upheld. Now their case was going before the Senate in Petersburg to be decided upon once and for all.  “Only Hashem knows what the final results will be!” he exclaimed.

When the guest heard all this, he said to the rich man: “I have something secret to tell you. Please can we step into a private room?”

They went into a room and closed the door. The guest said to the rich man:

“I have an earnest suggestion for you, that you travel immediately to Liozna and ask the Alter Rebbe for his advice and blessing.  I am one of the disciples of the Rebbe, and I, too, am on the way to Liozna to see the Rebbe. Without a doubt, salvation will come your way from there!”

The rich man answered: “About something like this, I must consult with my partner. I will send right away to call my partner, and we will decide on your suggestion.”

The rich man sent for his partner and told him what the guest had said. The partner said: “I am afraid that not only will we not be saved there, but we will fall into new trouble on the home front. When the word gets out in the city of Vilna, that we went to the Rebbe, we will be persecuted until they destroy us.”

The partners went back and forth between themselves, and finally they decided to go to their mutual friend, Reb Meir Refoel’s and ask what he would advise them to do.

When they came to Reb Meir and before they asked him their question, they made him promise to utter secrecy no matter what advice he gives them.

Reb Meir agreed to keep the secret. They told him about the guest and his suggestion for them to go to the Alter Rebbe to get a blessing about their impending case.  Reb Meir, who was still under the influence of the story with the aguna, answered them on the spot.

“I agree that you should travel to Liozna.”

The partners did not waste any time. Right away they prepared the wagon and took with them the guest and traveled straight away to Liozna.

When they came to Liozna, they requested and received a yechidus with the Rebbe. They poured out their hearts revealing to the Rebbe the terrible plight they were in and the uncertainty of what will be.

The Rebbe said to them: “I can see that you are learned men. Please tell me what do Chazal mean in the statement: ‘Malchusa d’aroh k’ein Malchusa d’rokiah’ – the kingdom of earth is similar to the Kingdom of Heaven – How are they similar?”

Not knowing what to answer, the partners remained silent.

The Rebbe continued:

“I will tell you the meaning. The Gemara is explaining the possuk in Parshas Shemos: “Zeh Shemi l’olom….“ – This is my name forever.” The Gemara interprets: “I am not called by the same name with which I am written; I am written with the name, ‘Yud – Hey – Vov- Hey’;  and I am called with the name ‘Ad-nai’ (Hashem – G-d).” So, we see that Hashem is not called by His Essence name. This is so also by the kingdom of earth. The Czar has his individual name, his personal name; but it is forbidden to call him by this name, only by the name Czar or Your Highness.”

The Rebbe completed the yechidus and bade them farewell, without even mentioning a word about what they had spoken about.

The partners left the room of the Rebbe most disappointed. They let it out on the Rebbe, the chassidim and their guest, all together. They harnessed their horse and wagon and left in deep anguish back to Vilna. When they returned, they went straight away to Reb Meir Refoel’s and told him that the Rebbe of the chassidim does not speak properly. You ask him one thing and he answers with something totally unrelated. When Reb Meir heard this, he decided that it must be so, and that the story with the agunah was just a coincidence.

A few months passed and the time for the judgement in Petersburg was coming close. The partners traveled to the capitol city. They went from lawyer to lawyer to figure out what could be done. It was all very tiring, and yet there was little hope of vindication. One lawyer finally suggested to them that they should try to fall to the feet of the justice minister and beg him for mercy. Maybe he will have pity on them. They made inquiries and found out that the justice minister goes every day at a certain time, to walk in a certain garden. They went to the guard at the entrance of the garden and bribed him handsomely to allow them to enter the garden before the minister would come. When the minister would arrive, he would hint to them which one he was in order that they put their request before him.

Now on this particular day when the guard allowed them to come, the justice minister took ill, and did not come for his regular constitutional. But the minister of culture did come to the garden.  The guard accompanied the minister to show him around. Fearing that when the Jews will see him walking next to him, they would think that this is the minister of justice, he motioned with his hands in a negative sign meaning this is not the one. The Jews mistakenly thought that he was hinting that they should come forth with their request. They came out of their hiding place and going over to the minister, fell to his feet, telling him their whole troubled story and begging him to help them out.

The minister said to them: “Gentlemen, you are mistaken. What you are requesting belongs to the minister of justice. I am the minister of culture.”

The Jews began to leave the garden totally dejected. After just a few minutes, the minister said to the guard, “Quick, run and return the two Jews who just left here to me.”

The guard became frightened. Perhaps because he allowed them to enter the garden without permission, he is being asked to call them back. But there was no choice. He ran and caught up with them. He told them that the minister of culture asked that they return immediately. They too became frightened and returned with great trepidation to the minister.

The minister said to them, “I can see from your that appearance that you are learned Jews. Now the Czar asked me a few days ago a question. If you are able to answer the question favorably, then I will offer your answer to the Czar and I will also ask him that he order an annulment of your case which is before the Senate.“

“This is the question: In your Talmud, there is a saying: ‘Malchusa d’aroh k’ein Malchusa d’rokiah’ (the kingdom of earth is similar to the Kingdom of Heaven). The Czar had trouble understanding how are these similar, the kingdom of earth and the Kingdom of Heaven? The Czar asked me this question and I, too, did not know the answer. Perhaps you would know an answer to this question?”

In a flash, the hearts of the Jews turned from fear to rejoicing, when they heard this question. Now they understood well what the words of the Rebbe hinted at when they were in yechidus in Liozna. Right away they answered the minister the exact answer which they heard from the Rebbe. The answer found favor in the eyes of the minister. The minister promised them that he will advocate on their behalf with the Czar and ask him to command to annul the decree against them.

And so, it was. The minister told the Czar that he met two Jews. From their appearance he saw that they were learned men. He put forth before them the question of the Czar and they answered him wisely. The answer found favor in the eyes of the Czar. The minister then told the Czar about the impending judgement the two Jews were facing. Only the Czar could help them, he said, as he told him the whole story and that he believed them to be innocent of any wrongdoing. The Czar ordered the Senate to annul the case and the partners were set free.

With great rejoicing they returned to Vilna. When they arrived in their hometown, once again, they went straight to the home of Reb Meir Refoel’s and told him all that had transpired with them.

Reb Meir Refoel’s did not waste any time. Immediately he traveled to Liozna where he connected himself with all his heart and soul to the Alter Rebbe and became a great chossid of the Alter Rebbe.

For sources, visit TheWeeklyFarbrengen.com