Motzei Shabbos Story: A group of chassidim from Krakow traveled to their Rebbe, the Choze of Lublin, bringing along a note from their wagon driver. When the Choze picked it up he said: “Who wrote this note? His name glistens and shines!
By Hillel Baron – Chabad.org
A group of chassidim were traveling from Krakow to their Rebbe, the Choze (“Seer”) of Lublin. When they arrived, after a trip of several days, their wagon driver asked if they could be so kind as to bring his note to the Rebbe, among the other notes they had brought from the people in Krakow. They happily obliged.
When they delivered all the notes, the Rebbe began reading through them, when suddenly, he picked up one and said, “Wow! Who wrote this note? His name glistens and shines!” They explained that it was from the wagon driver, and the Rebbe said, “There is something special about this man.”
After their audience with the Rebbe, the chassidim decided to find the wagon driver and figure out what was so special about him. They went to the inn and found his wagon and horses, but not the driver. They set off around town looking for him, until they reached an outdoor marketplace, and there he was, dancing and singing. “What is the occasion?” they asked, and he explained that this was a wedding of two orphans.
They asked his connection to the celebration, and he explained:
“After you left to go to the Rebbe, I took care of some maintenance with the wagon, fed the horses, and walked about town to see what was going on. I came across the marketplace, and saw people singing and making merry. I asked about the occasion, and was told that a wedding between two orphans was about to begin.
“Then, I discerned sounds of unhappy talk. ‘Oh,’ they told me, ‘there are some mixed feelings here. The people who arranged the match told the groom that the bride would provide him with a tallit. Unfortunately, this did not pan out, as they are both very poor.’
“What did I do?” the wagon driver said. “I quickly pushed my way through the crowd, and when I reached the bride, I took out the money which I happened to have on me, gave it to her and said, ‘Here, with this money you will buy your groom a tallit. It’s on me. No worries.’
“After that, the wedding went ahead without a hitch. And that’s why I’m singing and dancing right now,” the wagon driver concluded. “I may not have much money left in my pocket to show for this trip, but I am gratified to know that a new Jewish home will be established in joy and peace.”
At that point, it was clear to the chassidim why the wagon driver’s name shone so. It was because he had shown up and done his part immediately when an opportunity for a mitzvah presented itself to him.
Reprinted with permission from Chabad.org
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