B"H
It was the custom of Rabbi Zusha of Anipoli, to recite his morning
prayers at length. After he concluded, he would retire to his room
next to the shul. Once there, he would open the window and, lifting
his eyes to the heavens, call out, "Master of the World, Zusha (he
always referred to himself in the third person) is very hungry and
desires to eat something!"
Every morning, his attendant would wait until he heard R' Zusha's
appeal, then he would bring in R' Zusha's morning meal of cake with a
little schnapps.
One morning the attendant thought to himself, "Why doesn't R' Zusha
ask me directly for his meal. In fact, who does he think he is fooling
by calling out to G-d like that. He knows full well that I bring him
his food everyday." So on the spot he decided that the next morning he
would not bring R' Zusha's meal when he called out. He would just wait
to see what would happen and where
R' Zusha's would look for his meal.
The next morning, R' Zusha awoke as usual, well before the light of
day. As he did every morning, he first went to the town mikveh to
immerse himself in preparation for the day's holy work. The night had
been a rainy one in Anipoli, and the streets of the town had already
turned to rivers of mud. In order to get from one side of the street
to another, one had to cross on narrow planks that were laid across
the flowing mud. As R' Zusha was crossing in the direction of the
mikveh, a man whom he didn't recognize, a guest in town, was coming
towards R' Zusha from the other side. When he saw R' Zusha, gaunt,
almost emaciated, dressed in rags without a tooth in his mouth, the
stranger yelled out, "Tramp!", and with a hearty laugh jumped up and
down on the plank causing R' Zusha to tumble into the mud.
R' Zusha didn't say a word. He calmly picked himself out of the mud
and continued on his way to the mikveh, while the stranger sauntered
off into the distance, chuckling merrily the whole way as he
re-enacted his clever maneuver over and over in his mind. When he
arrived back at the inn where he was staying, he couldn't help but
brag to the innkeeper about his amusing prank. The innkeeper didn't
laugh so quickly. He asked the guest to describe the tramp whom he had
catapulted into the mud. Upon hearing, he clapped his hands to his
head and cried out in anguish, " Oy ! Oy vavoy! Do you know what you
did? That was not just some itinerant, that was the Rebbe Reb Zusha!"
Now it was the turn of the guest to cry out "Oy vavoy," for R' Zusha
was known to all as a holy tzadik. Trembling, the guest struck his
breast, "Oy vey, Oy Vey! What am I going to do now? What am I going to
do!"
"Don't worry," exclaimed the innkeeper, regaining his composure.
"Listen to me. I know what you should do. R' Zusha spends many hours
every morning in prayer. When he is finished he goes into his private
room next to the shul. There he opens the window, and anybody can see
how he thrusts his head out, and calls toward the heavens, 'Master of
the World, Zusha is very hungry and desires to eat something!' So,
I'll prepare some cakes and some schnapps for you to take to him. When
you hear him call out to the Creator, you go in immediately with this
gift, and offer it to him and beg his forgiveness. I'm certain that he
will forgive you whole-heartedly."
That morning, like every morning, after the prayers, R' Zusha went
into his room, opened the window and called out, "Master of the World,
Zusha is very hungry and desires to eat something!" The attendant,
upon hearing R' Zusha, held his ground and clasped his folded arms
together even tighter, waiting to see what the outcome would be. "Let
Master of the World bring him his cake this morning", he huffed to
himself.
Suddenly the door to the shul opened and a man, holding a large plate
of cakes and a bottle of schnapps came in and made his way to the room
of R' Zusha. He went straight in, put the cakes on the table, and then
fell to the floor in grief, begging the tzadik for his forgiveness
(which he was certainly granted).
Then the attendant came to understand that it really was the Master of
the World who brought R' Zusha his breakfast every morning.
-(Taken from
www.AscentofSafed.com)
Whether it's a stranger who helps us, or a boss who hands us our
paycheck, a Jew has to know that Everything we get comes from Hashem.
"But I bought my apple from Ralphs today, not G-d!?" First of all, for
that apple to reach you, a heck of a lot of things had to happen. A
seed had to be taken from a tree and planted. Rain had to fall or
other means of water found, to water the ground. The tree had to be
nurtured, with the right weather conditions in order that the growing
tree not be destroyed, etc. etc. Finally, you had to have the money,
and live in such a place where food is readily available in an
organized way (see Africa) to eat it. But the hardest part is
realizing that EVEN when all of our needs are met in seemingly natural
ways, all is truly coming from Hashem. Your boss handed you a check,
but it was G-d's Decision ultimately that you should receive it. (It
doesn't mean you can slap your boss and still expect a fat check :)
because you have to make a natural vessel for G-d's Blessings. (Open
miracles all day would ruin the challenge ;)
Let's realize G-d's Kindness in our health, loved ones, and all the
blessings we have.
Shabbat Shalom
-Daniel
