He Was Deep in Thought When the Wagon Drove Away

One of the Alter Rebbe’s great chassidim, Reb Binyomin Kletzker could become deeply engrossed in Chassidus and oblivious to what was happening around him. Once, while thinking Chassidus in the marketplace, the wagon he was leaning on drove off – and he only noticed when it was time for mincha.

Reb Binyomin Kletzker was one of the greatest chassidim of the Alter Rebbe.  Originally from a family of big misnadgim in the city of Shklov, Reb Binyomin eventually became a chossid.  He was a profound maskil in Chassidus and a great ba’al madrega.  He was a businessman and gave a lot of tzedaka.  He was a brother-in-law of the chossid Reb Pinchas Reizes.

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Reb Binyomin had the ability to be so deeply engrossed in Chassidus that he would be oblivious of what was happening around him. 

Once, while walking home from shul holding his tallis and tefillin, he became lost in thought.  It was a market day and he put down his tallis bag on one of the wagons of the merchants.  He leaned against something and rested his foot on the axle of the wagon while he carried on thinking.  In the meantime, the merchant finished his business, loaded his wagon and drove away.  So engrossed in thought, Reb Binyomin held his foot in the air for a short while before lowering his foot, still lost in thought.  Only the need to daven mincha in time awoke Reb Binyomin from his thoughts.

As the non-Jewish wagon driver was leaving town, he offered some of the produce that he was selling to a passing-by Jew.  The man noticed the tallis and tefillin and managed to retrieve them and return them to Reb Binyomin.

The Frierdiker Rebbe emphasized the strength of yiras Shamayim in this story.  Although Reb Binyomin was so engrossed in thought, he nevertheless sensed that the time for davening mincha had come!

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One of Reb Binyomin’s business enterprises was lumber.  Once, he was standing in a forest surrounded by workmen who were waiting for instructions, but Reb Binyamin was engrossed in thought.  The workmen gently nudged him and asked for the next instructions.  Reb Binyamin said, “Wait a moment”, and carried on thinking. 

After quite a while, they nudged him again saying, “Reb Binyamin! Everything has its time! The time to think Chassidus is during davening, not now!”  Reb Binyamin responded, “Is that so?  When thoughts about lumber come in the middle of davening, that’s not so terrible, but when thoughts of davening come in the middle of the lumber, it causes such a commotion!”

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