Translated by Adam Prager
Concerning one mitsvah
The Gaon R' Israel heard of this and said: "Why this is sheer trickery – preparing unleavened beverages [khamets] for themselves and cunningly selling it to the gentiles." He then declared at the synagogue that no one was permitted to brew beer shortly before Passover. Any man who defied his words would be ostracized. The tavern keepers heard him and all obeyed, except for one man who did not take the threat of ostracism seriously, since the great gaonim, the author of Bayit Khadash and R' Aryeh Leyb, the rabbi of Krakow and the author of Turey Zahav, who reigned in Swierz, did not declare such a punishment for this crime. So the taverner went and secretly prepared his ale.
That same tavern keeper was a moneylender to the villagers. On the first intermediate day of Passover [khol hamoed], he took his debtors' records, some provisions and rode towards the villages on his horse. On the way he was attacked by peasants and felt that they intended to kill him. He had a good horse and urged it forward, and was able to escape from them.
At mealtime he felt hungry. He had no water with which to wash his hands and did not wish to eat before doing so. He kept on riding till he was too tired to continue. Recalling that there was a spring that ran out of the mountain, he thought to himself that if he reached it he would be caught by the murderers and killed; if he did not get to the spring he would die of starvation. For he had no water with which to wash his hands, and he could not defy the Jewish custom of washing hands before eating. "Whatever will be will be," he said to himself, "for I must eat." He went down to the spring and washed his hands. Peasants came and murdered him.
The Gaon R' Israel used to have his prize student stay at his house. He would awaken two or three times a night, each time washing his hands; he directed the student to do likewise, and on each occasion they discussed the halakha. On the night of the murder there stayed with him his student, the great rabbi R' Natan, who later became famous among the Jews. A great preacher, he settled in the sacred community of Buczacz and was known there as R' Natan Melamed.
Past midnight a knocking was heard at the door. The Gaon called out, "Who is there?" A voice behind the door answered, "I am a tavern keeper." The Gaon thought it odd to be visited at such an hour. He ordered his student, our teacher R' Natan, to open the door. The tavern keeper stood at the entrance, but they did not notice that he was dead. "Why do you stand there," asked the Gaon, "come inside." "You think I'm alive, but I am dead," said the tavern keeper and he told them of all that had happened to him.
The Gaon turned to him and asked: "What is it that you want?" The dead man replied that it had been announced in the upper world that he was not to undergo a trial. God Almighty had already forgiven him for all his sins, for he had sanctified the name of God at the cost of his life while obeying one of the secondary commandments [mitsvot] ordained by oral tradition [divrey sofrim]. His soul was allowed to return to its place of origin, undetained by adversary or angel. When he arrived at the gates of heaven, an angel said: "Halt until I have inquired, for you have been ostracized by R' Israel." The angel was informed that the dead man could enter on condition that he obtain a writ from the rabbi canceling his punishment. "I am here," said the tavern keeper to the rabbi, " to request a writ of confirmation to win release of my soul from ostracism."
The rabbi asked: "Am I so important in that world? I am neither rich nor rabbi of a large town. The dead man replied: "Not every man merits two tables." [Berakhot 8: figurative expression of dual success, in Torah and in fame]. The Gaon asked: "How do you know how to speak in this manner?" For the tavern keeper was uneducated. He answered: "Now ask me about any Torah passage and I shall interpret it." And he added that when he was told to bring a writ from the rabbi, they spoke of the latter with two R's, respectfully saying R' R' Israel. The rabbi revoked the ostracism.
The rabbi asked the dead man who had killed him. He told him it was three peasants from a certain village and named their names. He added that his debtors' records were hidden in a barn of one the murderers. The rabbi said, "Rest in peace" and bade him farewell.
The following morning the rabbi asked to see the dead man's wife and told her that her husband had been hurt near a spring by the mountain, He instructed her to send a wagon with two men to bring him home. The wife wept and hurriedly rented a wagon and sent two or three men to fetch him. On their arrival they found the man dead. They laid him in the wagon and brought him to town.
His wife cried out in anguish and came weeping before the rabbi exclaiming, "My rabbi said he hurt his thigh, but he is dead." The rabbi replied: "I knew it was so, but I wanted to spare you the bad news. That is why I told you to send a wagon with men to bring him home." He added that the killers were three men from a certain village and his debtors' records were hidden in one of the men's barns and his name was such and such.
When the news reached the castle, the governor ordered that the dead man's body be displayed in the market square. According to custom, anyone knowing the identity of the killer(s) was asked to come forward. Such a man was not found and so they proceeded to bury the murdered taverner.
The dead man's wife then visited the governor and told him she knew the names of the killers and that her husband's debtors' records were hidden in one of the men's barns and that his name was such and such. The governor immediately dispatched horsemen to arrest the murderers and to find the debtors' records. The killers, knowing they had no other choice but to confess, did so. The governor wrought vengeance upon them and executed them. May the Lord take vengeance for the blood we have lost.
Everywhere he went and preached, our teacher, the great rabbi and preacher R' Natan of Buczacz, the student of the Gaon R' Israel, would reprove all those who took lightly the matter of washing hands. At the close of each sermon, he would tell the same tale. At the end he added: "If a man's soul is pardoned and given entrance to heaven for only one secondary commandment based on oral tradition, how much more so will he who keeps all the commandments of the Torah gain a place in the next world." (I give the origin of the story in Betoch Ha'Ir).
On the first day of the holiday, the day that our patriarch, Abraham, visits the sukkah, or perhaps it was on Hoshana Raba [the seventh day of the Feast of Tabernacles], the day the Messiah, King David, visits [these are folk beliefs], there gathered in the sukkah [booth] of Rabbi Meir of Przemyslany about thirty hasidim from various places. Rabbi Meir of Przemyslany asked," Is there anyone here who knew Rabbi Avraham David of Biczacz.
Rabbi Alter, son of the Biczacz dayan [religious court judge] (who rests in honor on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem) replied and said: "I was born thanks to the prayers of that tsadik [Hasidic rabbi] and I was brought up in his house. For my father, may he rest in peace, at sixty years of age still had no son, and therefore he would ask the tsadik to pray for him. Once, on the night of the Day of Atonement, when father went to the tsadik to receive his blessing, the Rabbi of Biczacz congratulated him, saying, "Mazal tov, this year your wife will give you a son." And I was born. And when father went to his eternal rest, the Rabbi of Biczacz took me into his home and raised me, and I knew him very well.
Rabbi Meir of Przemyslany said: "You say you knew the Rabbi of Biczacz, and Meir says there is no one who knew the Rabbi of Biczacz – except Meir. You will not see such a rabbi until the coming of the Messiah. Meir once talked with the Rabbi of Biczacz for eight continuous hours. You don't have to know what we talked about, but there is one part of that discussion that I will relate.
Meir asked the Rabbi of Biczacz why it is said of the Messiah, "And he will judge the poor righteously." And what is remarkable about the Messiah, our salvation, judging righteously? Moreover, it is said that he will judge only the poor and will not judge the rich. For it is said of Moses that he would discern from among all the people the valiant who are god-fearing and truthful, haters of corruption, etc.; all large matters will be brought before him, whereas they will judge the small ones. This means that great matters are brought before the great and little matters before the little. And why in the passage is the Messiah burdened with matters of the poor, since most matters of the poor are menial? And the Rabbi of Biczacz made no reply to Meir. And Meir said, "I will answer."
When Messiah the King arrives – may he soon come – when God appoints him for our time, immediately the seven shepherds arrive, and the presidents, and the high priests and the kings and the prophets, and also the Tannaim [talmudic teachers] and the Amoraim [talmudic interpreters], and all the talmudic sages ["khokhmey shas"], and also the Saboraim. and the Gaonim and the great First Poskim [religious arbiters], and all the rest of the righteous tsadikim, until the temple is filled by them and there is no room for the rabbis.
But the righteous rabbis are allowed to sit outside in front of the temple.
And to sit near to and next to the temple of the Messiah is a great privilege.
At that time, everyone that wants to have a dispute judged upon, wants it
brought before the Messiah, the King. The rich come first, it being their nature
to lead. When they arrive at the threshold, they behold the rabbi of their city
sitting there. "Rabbi, are you here? We have a dispute to settle. Perhaps you
can be of use to us." Immediately, the rabbi hears their case and renders
judgement. Poor people whose disputes involve pennies see the cases of the great
and rich being settled, cases involving thousands. They become ashamed to put
forward their disputes. The Messiah, the King calls to them and says: "My
beloved brothers, who feel with me in all my suffering, come closer to me." They
come near to the Messiah, the King. The Messiah, the King says to them, "My
brothers, what do you want?" They reply to the Messiah, the King: "We have such
and such disputes and wish to have judgements." The Messiah, the King replies:
"You have disputes, and if you wish I will render judgements on them." They
reply: "Messiah, the King, our cases involve pennies. The Messiah, the King
answers: "My brothers, you have no need to feel ashamed. Your pennies are
kosher; you toiled greatly to earn them and they are more significant than all
the gold and silver in the world. Put forth your arguments. And immediately the
Messiah, our salvation, heard their disputes and rendered judgements
righteously. And thus it is said: "And he will judge the poor righteously" [Isaiah,
11:4].