Shmini: 5783 - "From a thread to a shoelace": Rabbi Shimon Zonnenfeld with a wonderful story about one of the chassidim of the Alter Rebbe and the great trial he endured regarding the mitzvah of tzitzis. Continuing…

00:00 Speaker 1 Rabbi Zalman, please.

00:02 Speaker 2 In connection with what we learned today, Rava taught that because Avraham Avinu said, “Not a thread or a shoelace,” his descendants merited the straps of tefillin and the thread of techeiles in tzitzis. There’s a story about one of the Alter Rebbe’s students, one of his chassidim. I think they tell it about the Rebbe of Shtamieyl­nish [unclear]. He was very particular about the mitzvah of tzitzis, very careful not to walk four amos without tzitzis. That was the mitzvah he was especially careful about. Once, while he was traveling, he suddenly discovered that his tzitzis were invalid. Apparently one of the threads had torn. Since he was so particular about tzitzis, he wouldn’t move from where he stood, right in the middle of the road. What could he do? He stood there and waited, hoping a Jew might come by. Sometimes Jewish peddlers would pass through, selling all sorts of small goods, including tzitzis threads. And then he saw such a Jew in the distance, walking with a sack over his shoulder. He began shouting and calling to him until the man heard and came over. “Do you happen to have tzitzis threads?” he asked. The man said yes, so he asked him for some. The man said, “What, I should unpack my whole sack now just for a tzitzis thread?” He replied, “I’ll pay you everything I have. Just bring me one.” Well, hearing that, the man took out a thread and gave it to him. He took out all the money he had and gave it to the man, repaired his tzitzis, and then continued on his way. The story goes that when this chossid of the Alter Rebbe came to the Alter Rebbe and went in for yechidus, the Alter Rebbe opened his drawer, took out the money the chossid had given away, and returned it to him. It was a test they had put

02:08 Speaker 2 him through from Heaven in this matter. Apparently it was Eliyahu Hanavi, and the money was returned to him.

02:16 Speaker 1 Beautiful.