Three Times

The following story is about Reb Zushe of Anipoli and Reb Elimelech of Lizensk, two brothers who were both great tzaddikim. These two brothers wandered around the countryside as a form of self-imposed exile.

When they were on their wanderings, they did not have a set place to eat. They just relied on Hashem to give them food to eat. They did not have a place to sleep either. They trusted that Hashem would help them, wherever they went.

Usually, the two brothers found someone who was generous enough to offer them a place to sleep and some food. Otherwise, they fasted and slept in a barn or somewhere like that.

Of course, at this time, it was not known that the two brothers were great tzaddikim. People thought that they were just ordinary beggars, and they treated them that way.

Our story begins on a Friday, when Reb Zushe and Reb Elimelech were walking down the street in a small town. “Where are we going to spend Shabbos?” they wondered. “We do not know. Hashem will help, and we will be okay.”

Shabbos was getting closer and closer, but the two brothers still could not find a place to spend Shabbos. There were yidden in the town, but they seemed to be very poor. So poor, that they probably would not be able to afford to have the two brothers for Shabbos and then still have enough food for their families.

When Shabbos came, Reb Zushe and Reb Elimelech went to shul. The shul was such a small, poor-looking shul. The yidden of the town simply did not have enough money to support it.

After davening, it seemed to Reb Zushe and Reb Elimelech that they had no choice but to stay at the shul and spend the night there. There would be no one in this poor town who would be able to have them as a guest, they thought.

As everybody was leaving the shul, the rov noticed that the two brothers were just staying around. He thought that they must be visitors, so he went over to them and said Gut Shabbos.

“Please,” the rov said, “come to my house and be my guest. As you may have noticed, this town is a very poor town, but we would be more than glad to have you two as our guests.”

So, Reb Zushe and Reb Elimelech accompanied the rov to his house. What a poor house it was! The door was falling off, the paint was peeling, and the furniture consisted of simple stumps of wood. The kids’ clothes were falling apart, too.

The rov’s children were happy to see that they had guests. They were so excited, because they did not have guests in a long time, because it was too expensive.

The rov made kiddush, and they started their meal. They washed and made hamotzi, on whatever challah they had. Then they had fish—a tiny piece for each person.

Then they had soup. The rov’s wife served the soup, and each person got a small bowl of the watery soup. As Reb Elimelech was taking his first spoon of soup to his mouth, his spoon accidentally hit the bowl and tipped it over. The soup spilled all over the table! “Oy vey!” the rov thought. “A precious bowl of soup. Doesn’t this man realize that this soup costs us a lot of money?!”

The rov didn’t want to embarrass Reb Elimelech, so he didn’t really say anything. The rov’s wife got Reb Elimelech another bowl of soup, but this time she watered it down even more, so that all the soup should not get used up.

The rov then reminded Reb Elimelech to be a little more careful, after all, he thought: “this soup costs us a lot of money.”

Reb Elimelech tried to be more careful this time. He dipped his spoon into the soup, and carefully brought it up to his mouth. But then, his elbow hit the bowl and it spilled all over a second time! The table was dripping with soup! They tried to wipe it up the best they were able to with everyone around the table.

The rov was quite annoyed at Reb Elimelech. He said to him: “I asked you to please be more careful.” The rov’s wife went to get more soup for Reb Elimelech but there was none, so the rov gave him some of his own.

Now, Reb Elimelech wanted to be very careful. He did not want to tip his bowl again!

Reb Elimelech carefully dipped his spoon into the soup and brought it up to his mouth. Just then, one of the rov’s children asked a question and Reb Elimelech wanted to hear it. So, he turned his head…and there went his soup. His elbow had hit the bowl and tipped it over a third time! There was soup everywhere.

The rov’s wife was very upset, and so was the rov. By this time there was no more soup left, so Reb Elimelech did not get another bowl.

As this was going on, Reb Zushe said: “I see that you are very upset with what my brother did, but I would like to tell you about something that I once learnt a long time ago. I learnt that everything that happens down here, happens first in the shomayim.

“It must be, that if three bowls of soup spilled and caused a big mess, it is a kaporah, so that instead of something even worse happening in the world, something smaller happened. Even though you seem to be very upset, you would probably be more upset if something even worse happened. Hopefully everything will turn out okay,” concluded Reb Zushe.

The rov’s wife realized that this was not an ordinary beggar. She realized that he was more like a tzaddik. Although she really did not understand what Reb Zushe had said, it sounded like Reb Zushe knew what he was talking about.

***

When this story took place, the Czar of Russia was Czar Paul. Now we go to his palace, on Friday night.

The trumpets blew, and officers came into the king’s chamber. There was a new decree, and they wanted the czar’s approval for it.

So, the czar looked it over, and it sounded good to him—all the Jews would be expelled from Russia, and anyone would be free to loot the Jewish homes.

Now, the czar went to his desk to sign the decree and make it official. He took his quill, and dipped it into his inkwell, preparing to sign the decree.

The czar’s quill was about to touch the parchment, when his sleeve—with all the buttons on it—hit the inkwell and tipped it over. The ink spilled all over the desk!

The officers pulled away the parchment so that it would not become ruined and servants were called.

It took the servants a while to clean up the whole desk. They tried to do it as soon as possible, before the ink would spread everywhere. The inkwell was also refilled.

After the servants had left and the mess was cleaned up, the czar was ready to sign the decree. This time, the czar tried to be extra careful. He did not want to spill his inkwell again and cause a big tumult.

So, Czar Paul carefully dipped his quill into the inkwell, and then put the quill down on the parchment, about to sign his name. Then, the czar turned in his seat, and his elbow hit the inkwell and tipped it over, again!

The scene from before repeated itself. Servants were called to clean up the mess, and an officer pulled away the decree so that it would not become ruined.

The czar was sitting at the desk, waiting for the mess to be cleaned up. Finally, the servants left, and the inkwell was refilled. The czar thought: “I better be careful now. I do not want to spill the inkwell another time!”

An officer laid the decree on the desk, and the czar got ready to sign it. He dipped the quill into the inkwell… as cautious as he was, the quill hit the inkwell and tipped it over, for a third time!

Naturally, servants were called, and the whole commotion repeated itself again. After the desk was cleared and the inkwell refilled, the decree was laid in front of the czar, for the fourth time.

Everyone expected the czar to dip the quill into the inkwell and sign the decree, but he did not do that. He just sat there.

One officer was curious to know why the czar just sat there motionless, so he asked the czar: “Czar, will you not sign the decree?”

The Czar answered: “No. I will not sign the decree, nor will I affix my seal to it. The inkwell spilled three times, and there must be a special meaning attached to that, because it is unusual for such a thing to occur.

“It must be that this decree was not meant for me to approve.

Therefore, I will not sign it,” concluded Czar Paul.

***

It just so happened to be, that the Friday night in Part I, was the same Friday night in Part II. The actions of Reb Zushe and Reb Elimelech were not out of simple selfishness. Why would two tzaddikim go to the house of a poor family, whom they knew to be poor?

The tzaddikim knew what would happen through their ruach hakodesh, and it was the three bowls of soup that were spilled, that saved all the yidden in Russia.