A Strange Inn
This story takes place in the time of the Alter Rebbe. One of the many causes that the Alter Rebbe was involved with, was raising money for the talmidei chachomim who lived in Eretz Yisroel.
The Alter Rebbe sent out shluchim to different cities, towns and villages, to collect money and to teach the yidden in those cities about yiddishkeit.
One particular chossid who we are going to be talking about, was named Reb Zalmen Zezmer.
Every year, the Alter Rebbe would call him into his room and tell him which cities he would like him to visit.
Every year, Reb Zalmen also asked for a brocho, so that his trip should be successful. Not only would he ask that his trip be successful, but he would also ask for a brocho so that the money that he would collect would not get stolen.
This year, when the Alter Rebbe called in Reb Zalmen Zezmer, and told him where he should go on shlichus, Reb Zalmen made sure to ask for a brocho. Of course, he got a brocho, but at the end of the brocho, the Alter Rebbe gave some strange instructions. The Alter Rebbe said: “Reb Zalmen, make sure that you do not sleep in a room that has a door on the east side.”
Reb Zalmen then left the Rebbe’s room, and set off on his way, doing his Rebbe’s shlichus. Reb Zalmen did not understand the Alter Rebbe’s words, but of course, he would listen to what the Alter Rebbe said.
Reb Zalmen went from town to town, from city to city, and from village to village, collecting money and teaching the yidden Torah.
Every night, he would check his hotel room wherever he slept, to make sure that his door was not on the east side. Interestingly enough, not once was the door to his room on the east side!
Well, after a few weeks had passed, possibly even a few months, Reb Zalmen Zezmer had finished his list of cities, and was ready to return home.
Reb Zalmen started heading for home. Soon it was starting to get dark, so he decided to stop off at a hotel. But there was a problem: There were no hotels to be seen. All there was, was a big field. To make the matter worse, there was a big forest ahead. What would Reb Zalmen do?
Reb Zalmen decided to continue on into the forest. Maybe there would be an inn not far from where he was?
But, as Reb Zalmen went deeper and deeper in the forest, it just got darker and darker. Reb Zalmen did not even know if he was on the road or not! Of course, he was very tired, but he just had to continue going.
Soon Reb Zalmen saw something… It was a light! It was not the daylight, and it was not the moonlight either. It was a little candle! Reb Zalmen had found people!
Reb Zalmen started heading towards the light, and sure enough, he came to a small inn. Reb Zalmen got out of his wagon, and went into the inn. Inside, he was greeted by someone who looked like a yid. Reb Zalmen asked: “Is it possible for me to spend the night here?” “Yes! Of course,” came the reply.
“Are you Jewish?” Reb Zalmen asked out of curiosity. “Yes, I am,” replied the man. Reb Zalmen was very excited. Not only did he find a place to sleep, but the owner of the inn was a Jew!
Now, Reb Zalmen needed to da’aven ma’ariv, so he asked the man: “Which direction is mizrach?” The man showed him where was mizrach, and he got ready to da’aven.
As Reb Zalmen was looking for a place to da’aven, he noticed that the door to the inn was on the east side! He could not sleep in this inn, because the Alter Rebbe had told him: “Reb Zalmen, make sure that you do not sleep in a room that has a door on the east side.”
Immediately, Reb Zalmen took his bags, including his bag of money and told the owner of the inn: “I am sorry, but I have to leave. Thank you for letting me stay for as long as I did.” Quickly, Reb Zalmen ran to the door to leave the inn. But, before he could open the door, the man came and locked the door.
“Not so fast!” the owner of the inn shouted with a mean looking face. “I do hachnosas orchim. I bring in guest. But, I don’t let them out! HA HA! You’re staying here.”
The man went into the next room and locked the door behind him. Reb Zalmen heard what sounded like a group of robbers. They were talking with each other. They were saying: “What do you have over there?” “A big bag of money this guy has. I heard it when he came in.” “That’s great! Let’s get it.” “It’s a good catch!” “Hey why don’t we have a party before we get him?”
A party is what they had. Reb Zalmen heard dishes and silverware. There was much noise. Occasionally, Reb Zalmen saw some mean faces looking through a small window. Reb Zalmen was saying tehillim, begging Hashem to save him.
Soon the gang came out into the room where Reb Zalmen was. They all approached him and one went towards the bag of money. Reb Zalmen said: “You will not rob my money that I have collected, and you will not hurt me either. The money that I have is not mine. I collected it for tzedaka, to give to talmidei chachomim in Eretz Yisroel. That is part of the shlichus of my Rebbe.
“My Rebbe also told me not to sleep in a place where the door is on the east side. As soon as I realized that the door here is on the east side, I got up to leave, and you will not be able to stop me.”
The gangsters started to laugh. “First of all, we do not even understand most of the words that you are saying. And second of all, you think that you will tell us what to do? Nothing will stop us! We are the best. HA HA! We are going to take everything from you, and then finish you off!”
One gangster picked up the bag of money and said: “Oh, this is a big bag of money! It’s very heavy. We’ll be rich soon!” Reb Zalmen then repeated: “You will not take that money! It is for tzedaka, to give to talmidei chachomim in Eretz Yisroel.”
The gangsters said to Reb Zalmen: “You really think that you will be able to stop us? Just watch!” They put the money on the table to count it. One gangster started counting… 1…2…4…6…8..10…12.
Then, another gangster came over and said: “Let me count it. I can count much faster.” Still another one of the gangsters wanted to count, and another. Soon all the gangsters got into a big fight. One wanted to count, and the other wanted to count, too.
One gangster had an idea: “Hey guys, why don’t we eat first, then we’ll count the money and divide it! Otherwise we’ll be starving while we’re counting the money! We’ll have the best dessert … counting money! That’s better than anything else.”
They all liked the idea, and they quickly prepared a meal. They sat down, and put the bag of money in middle of the table, so that they would be able to see it while they were eating. Soon, some of the gangsters got thirsty, and decided to bring out mashke for everyone.
It did not take long until all the gangsters were drunk. They were too excited to continue eating, so they decided to count the money right away. Once again, they got into a fight, each one wanting to count the money.
One gangster just grabbed the bag away and started counting. “One…Two…Three…Where was I? Oh, yeah…Four…Five…Six…Seven…Eight…Nine…Ten…Eleven…Twelve…Nineteen…Twenty…Twenty-one…Twenty-three.”
“No!” one of the gangsters piped up. “Twenty-five! You are counting wrong!” “Well, okay. Twenty-ten…Twenty-sixty…”
“Let me count,” shouted a gangster. “You are counting totally wrong!” So, this gangster started counting all over, but made the same mistakes like the other one. This repeated itself a few times.
The gangsters kept on drinking, and arguing at the same time.
Soon, all the gangster got so tired, that they decided to go to sleep, and count the money the next day. Well, one by one, they all fell asleep. One was on the bench, another slept on the floor, and yet another made the table his bed.
After a while, everyone was sleeping, except for two people. One was Reb Zalmen, and the other was the man who had greeted Reb Zalmen when he first came.
Reb Zalmen noticed something strange about him. While everyone was drinking, he just kept on bringing more and more mashke, to make sure that his friends were very drunk. He did not even drink a bit of mashke the whole time! Reb Zalmen was able to tell that there was something different about him.
The “owner” of the “inn” soon approached Reb Zalmen. He said: “I am a yid, and I think I know your Rebbe. I don’t want to do anything against him. Please, take your things and go.”
Reb Zalmen felt bad for this man—he was a yid after all. Reb Zalmen said: “What about all the other guys? What are they going to do to you when they find out that you let me go?”
“Do not worry,” the man said. “I will take care of myself. But I want you go back, and continue on your way. Meanwhile, I want you to give something to your Rebbe from me.”
The man then pulled out a 50 ruble bill and handed it to Reb Zalmen. “Here, give this to your Rebbe.” Reb Zalmen then took the money and left.
Reb Zalmen continued travelling, and pretty soon he found his way out of the forest. After a few hours of travelling, Reb Zalmen arrived back home. It was the early morning when Reb Zalmen arrived.
Reb Zalmen went to the shul, and found the Alter Rebbe waiting for him. The Alter Rebbe said: “Reb Zalmen, I have been waiting for you the whole night. Where have you been?”
Reb Zalmen explained the whole story, and then gave the Alter Rebbe all the money that he had collected. He also gave the Alter Rebbe the 50 ruble note that he had received from the owner of the inn.
The Alter Rebbe then took the 50 ruble note, and stuffed it into a crack in the wall. Reb Zalmen was surprised, but did not ask any questions about what the Alter Rebbe did.
That 50 ruble note stayed in the wall for many years. Nobody touched it. That is, until one day, an old man came to see the Alter Rebbe. The Alter Rebbe was not able to see him then, but he went over to the crack in the wall where the money was, took it out, and told his gabbai to give it to the man.
The gabbai explained to the old man that the Alter Rebbe was not able to see him and he gave him the 50 ruble note. The old man then left the Alter Rebbe’s shul. This man, was none other than the owner of the inn!