A Tzaddik's Decree

Among the Breslover Chassidim who lived in Uman during the early 1900's, Reb Aharon was renowned for his simchah (joy). And not only was Reb Aharon a joyous person himself, but he made everyone he met happy, too. He studied Torah b'simchah, he prayed and sang b'simchah, and he could break into a spontaneous dance at the slightest provocation.

"Why are you dancing so merrily today?" a skeptic once asked Reb Aharon.

"I'm borrowing a rikkud from the better days that are coming!" he answered with a smile.

Reb Aharon was a devoted student of Reb Pinchos, leader of the Breslover Chassidim in the town of Kiblitch. In fact, they were so close that after his wedding, Reb Aharon moved to Kiblitch just to be near his teacher.

However, not long after the birth of his first child, Reb Aharon was drafted by the Russian army. At that time, the term of military service was four years. To make matters worse, the government did not concern itself with the welfare of the soldiers' families. Therefore, Reb Aharon's wife and child were left with no means of support. Somehow, Reb Aharon's fellow Chassidim managed to provide his wife with a few meager necessities. But the woman was sorely distressed because she knew that her sustenance came from people who themselves barely had enough to eat. How could she be a burden upon them for another four years?

One day, Reb Pinchos and his students were discussing Reb Aharon's plight. "Let's go visit Reb Aharon's family," Reb Pinchos suggested. "At least we can show them that we care."

So they all went together to Reb Aharon's house. When they arrived, they found the young mother standing beside the child's crib, weeping uncontrollably.

This tragic scene had a profound effect on all of the visitors, especially Reb Pinchos.

"Stop crying," he told the distraught woman. "Whether I will live to see Reb Aharon again, I don't know. But this much I can promise: your husband will be home within the year."

Reb Aharon's wife knew that Reb Pinchos was a tzaddik, so his words were able to appease her. She dried her eyes, confident that her husband would soon return. Yet she could not imagine how this would come about.

Day and night, Reb Pinchos unrelentingly stormed the heavens with his prayers. Suddenly, one afternoon, there was a great hue and cry - the Czar's wife had given birth to a boy. Due to his great happiness, the Czar had issued a proclamation releasing every soldier with a wife and children from military service.

However, Reb Aharon's commanding officer had other ideas. He wrote a letter of request to his commander-in-chief: "I have obeyed my orders as instructed, but with your permission, I would like to make an exception to the rule. There is one Jewish soldier who keeps up the morale of my entire troop. However, he also has a wife and child at home. For the sake of his comrades, I would rather not let him go."

To the officer's consternation, a dispatch soon arrived from the commander-in-chief: "How dare you contradict the Czar's words? Dismiss the man immediately!"

When Reb Aharon returned to Kiblitch, his friends greeted him excitedly. They embraced him and, with a joyous song, accompanied him through the village streets.

However, when Reb Aharon stepped up to the door of his own little house, sad tidings reached his ears. Only a few minutes earlier, his beloved teacher, the holy Reb Pinchos, had passed away.

© 1990 Mesorah Publications