by Rav Yonasan Eibeshitz himself. Rav Yonasan told of how he received a dowry of 3,000 golden coins from his father-in-law so he could sit and learn without worry. During that time, a monastery was built in the densely populated village of Yidden, infuriating the kehillah. One night, a Yid climbed the spire and broke off the tzelem, but he was caught and not heard from again. A guard at the monastery revealed that the Yid was languishing in the dungeons awaiting a death sentence, and he offered the townsfolk to ransom him for 3,000 golden coins. The townsfolk wasted no time, going from house to house to raise the gargantuan sum. But when Rav Yonasan heard about the man’s plight, he didn’t even want to risk those extra hours or days of collecting. Without even enlisting the kehillah’s support, he promptly dug into his entire dowry, which was the exact amount demanded, and ran to the guard to deliver it. When the townsfolk later came to tell Rav Yonasan that they’d raised the funds and were ready to redeem the Yid, he told them there was no need; the ransom had already been arranged. They wanted him to take the money back from them, because they had all wanted to have a part in the gevaldige mitzvah of pidyon shevuyim, but Rav Yonasan declined, saying he had already paid and acquired the mitzvah for himself. A few days later, Rav Yonasan’s wife commented that she wanted to dip into their savings to cover a few expenses. Nervous about her finding their safe empty, he told her he had to go away for a few days, hoping she’d be appeased about her findings — or lack thereof — by the time he returned. Meanwhile, the priests entered the dungeon and found it empty, and they immediately suspected the guard. He realized his life was at stake, so he gathered his wealth and belongings, hid it inside a barrel of oranges, and lugged it to Rav Yonasan’s house where, in his absence, he was met by the rav’s wife. “The priests want my life for releasing the Jew,” he said. “I have to run away immediately. I am leaving my wealth with you because I have never before met a person like your husband
who so easily parted with his entire savings just to save another person. In case they do get me and I don’t return alive, I want my money to end up in your husband’s righteous hands.” Rav Yonasan’s wife now understood why the safe was empty. Shortly thereafter, she heard that during the manhunt for the guard, he fell into a lake and drowned. The fortune in the barrel was theirs to keep. When Rav Yonasan returned home, she greeted him elatedly. “I know what
ished speaking, he thanked the Chofetz Chaim and told him that the rav was profoundly mechazek him in his emunah. The Chofetz Chaim expressed his delight, saying he had hesitated about coming to town, but hearing that he’d inspired another Yid in emunah was worth all of the physical difficulty he’d endured, because there was nothing greater than being mezakeh es harabim. In fact, by the Chofetz Chaim’s keynote speech at the great Knessia Gedolah in Vienna — an encounter many of us are familiar with from the historic footage made public a few years ago — he addressed the rabbanim about their duty to be mezakeh es harabim when they returned to their respective towns. Later in the afternoon, he announced that he wanted to add a point to his earlier drasha. “You might think,” he said, “that being mezakeh es harabim applies only to great tzaddikim, because how can a layperson inspire others if he himself has room for improvement? But it’s not so. The mishnah says, ‘kol’ hamezakeh es harabim, which means that every little bit with which we can be mezakeh others is precious.” The Chofetz Chaim then shared a phenomenal parable to drive the message home. A governor visited a small village and noticed that the water seemed to be of inferior quality. He challenged the mayor, who said that the pipes were old, causing the contamination. The governor chided him, saying he should be filtering the water to purify it. Heeding the advice, the mayor immediately launched an initiative to fix the problem. Soon after, the governor heard that the town burned down. He called the mayor and inquired why he hadn’t succeeded in extinguishing the fire before it destroyed the entire town, and the mayor replied, “We didn’t have enough filtered water to put the fire out.” “You fool!” cried the mayor. “When a fire burns, you use any water available, even filthy water.” Thus, the Chofetz Chaim wrapped up his message: “A fire is burning; the threats from outside are seeping in and impacting Yiddishkeit. Every person, great or not, has to try to be mezakeh others to put the fire out.”
“Why did Hashem reject my mitzvah?” Rav Yonasan asked. “Why is He throwing it back in my face?” you did with our dowry, but in His great love for you, and wanting to prevent your suffering from this great sacrifice, Hashem already sent us back the money with profits!” She was sure he would mirror her excitement, but to her surprise, he broke down and cried inconsolably. “Why did Hashem reject my mitzvah?” he asked. “Why is He throwing it back in my face? I did pidyon shevuyim with such a sacrifice, but it looks like in Shamayim they don’t want it from me.” He fasted for three days and nights and made a shaalos chalom, al pi Kabbalah, to get an answer. The answer he got was, “You’re right. In Shamayim they did not want your mitzvah because you were not mezakeh es harabim with it.” This shows us that even with the best of intentions and with such sacrifice, in Shamayim it would still be preferable had Rav Yonasan included the townsfolk in his zechus of pidyon shevuyim. A story is told about the time the Chofetz Chaim was already old and frail, and Rav Chaim Ozer Grodzinski asked him to come speak in Vilna. His family was reluctant to let him take the trip due to his ill health, but the Chofetz Chaim said, “If Chaim Ozer says I should come, I’m going.” During the visit to Vilna, an elderly Yid dropped in to speak with the Chofetz Chaim, and they discussed topics of emunah. When the Yid fin-
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