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Weekly Chasidic Story #1337 (5783-44) 6 Av 5783 (July 24, 2023) "The Curiosity-Attracting Shoes Salesman"
Story in PDF format for more conveneint printing
THE CURIOSITY-ATTRACTING SHOES SALESMANIt was Belarus towards the end of the 19th century and Jewish-run inns dotted the rural areas like poppy seeds on a bagel. Rabbi Shmuel Weinberg didn't frequent inns; he preferred the comfort of his straw bed at home and his wife's cooking. But he was the Slonimer Rebbe and his people needed him, so from time to time he set out on the road and stayed for a few days at different inns in his area. On the first night of his stay in this particular inn, Rabbi Shmuel noticed an interesting stranger. Rabbi Shmuel couldn't help but analyze him: "He's stately, well dressed. He has an inner calm that I don't see often." Rabbi Shmuel was even most impressed by the man's glow; he sensed a holiness in the man. He wanted to know the source of the man's aura, yet he didn't feel it appropriate to approach him right away. Night two at the inn found the Slonimer tired from a long day of activities on behalf of the Jewish community. Weary, he opened the tractate of Talmud he had brought with him to study a certain passage in depth before he retired. "Why would the defendant be obligated to take an oath in this case and not...?" Then he noticed the man was present again. He was sorting through documents in his attache case, his appearance illuminated by contentment. "I must approach him tonight," Rabbi Shmuel decided. But he didn't because he wanted to finish his committed time for learning, and by the time he was done, the man had gone back to his room. "Tomorrow night," he promised himself. That is when he would discover the source of this man's holiness. The third night the haze in the common room was even thicker than usual, a mixture of cigarette and furnace smoke, and it was difficult to see clearly, but the Rebbe had no trouble finding the man. "My dear fellow Yid! Vos macht du? (How are you doing?)" Rabbi Shmuel asked, approaching the man with slow determination. The man looked up. He was eating soup. "I'm doing well, Rabbi." "Can I ask you something?" Rabbi Shmuel asked. "Of course!" "Who are you?" The man wasn't perturbed by the rabbi's forwardness. "I'm a simple man. I sell shoes for a living. I'm doing well, thank G d." "I mean, what do you do spiritually?" Like, he was concerned with the man's holiness, not his income. "How long do you pray? How much Torah do you study?" "I don't pray. I mean, I try to but I don't know how to read, so I'm able to say the three paragraphs of the Sh'ma Yisrael prayer by heart every morning and evening, but nothing else. Same goes for learning." The man cast his gaze downward. Of course, the rebbe didn't judge the man. How could he? Nevertheless, he pursued. "I'm sorry to ask, but can you tell me about your day? I see something in you that I don't usually see." "Of course, Rabbi. But I'm afraid that I'm quite ordinary. I wake up at 5 am every morning..." said the man as he launched into a detailed review of his day. He was nearing late afternoon and Rabbi Shmuel was still at a loss. Why did the man glow? The man concluded, "And before I go to sleep, after I recite the Sh'ma, I say to G-d: "Master of the world, I ask only one thing from you. If I don't have what it takes to fulfill the mission for which you created me, don't wake me up tomorrow. Wake me up only if you believe I can do everything you need me to do in the world." Rabbi Shmuel Slonimer had his answer. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Source: Freely adapted by Yerachmiel Tilles from the story deftly
written by Leibel Gniwisch, which he heard from Rabbi Shlomo Katz. First published
on Chabad.org. Connection: On the Shabbos that completes the week in which Tisha b'Av falls, the weekly reading includes (both a repetition of the Ten Commandments and) the first mention of the Shma Yisrael prayer. Biographical note: Rabbi Shmuel Weinberg (1850-1916), the 2nd Rebbe of Slonim (in Europe) and author of Divrei Shmuel, was the grandson of Rabbi Avraham Weinberg, author of Yesod HaAvodah, the first of the Slonim dynasty. (jewishaction.com) He was known for his tireless efforts to unite the ultra-Orthodox communities, both Hasidic and Misnagdic, in the struggle against the intrusion of modernity into towns in their region, and was instrumental in founding the first pan-communal organization of Orthodox communities in Eastern Europe, Keneset Yisrael, a short-lived predecessor to the Agudas Yisroel movement. (YIVO) In 1900, he worked to establish Yeshivat Ohr Torah in Tiberias, and twice visited in the Land of Israel when he was younger. He passed away on the 19th of Shevat 5676, while he was in Warsaw for medical treatment, and was laid to rest there, in the Jewish cemetery. (inner.org)
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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.