I’ll tell you a maaseh. In the late 1840s, there was a war that broke out between Austria and Hungary. At that time, there was a Hungarian Yid, Reb Srulik, who would travel to do business in Austria. He traveled there frequently, and this time, while he was in Austria on one of his regular trips, the war broke out.
Now, not only was he stuck in Austria, but at any time, he could be stopped by the police and accused of being a spy, since he was a Hungarian citizen. So, he was extremely cautious to stay under the radar. He didn’t go out much and spent a lot of time in shul. But one day, while he was walking back from shul to the place where he was staying, he was stopped by the police. “Show me your papers!” they demanded. With no choice, Reb Srulik pulled out his Hungarian papers and, shaking, handed them over. Lo and behold, here was a citizen of the enemy!
Reb Srulik tried telling them that he was just here on business, but they shlepped him off to prison. After a sham trial, they convicted him as a spy and sentenced him to death.
Reb Srulik was at a loss. Here he was, all by himself — no family, no support. All he had with him was a pocket-sized Sefer Tehillim. All there was for him to do was use it, so he said tehillim all day long, repeating the entire tehillim over and over again, begging Hashem to save him.
This Reb Srulik was a chassid of the great Reb Meir of Premishlan, who was known to be a big tzadik and a baal mofes. While he was asking Hashem for mercy, he also asked that Hashem should help his Rebbe find out what had happened to him. Of course, he knew that the yeshua comes from Hashem, but he believed in the power of tzadikim and hoped that in his zechus, Hashem would send him a yeshua.
In the meantime, it seemed hopeless, and it looked like his life would be ending soon.
One day, he was being transported from one place to another. As they were pulling him through the street, there was a general walking by, and he stopped and said, “Srulik!” Now, Reb Srulik did not recognize this official at all, but he decided to play along. “Yes, it’s me!” “What are you doing here?” he asked. “I was here from Hungary on business. I got here before the war. I have nothing to do with any of this, but they are accusing me of being a spy!” “Oh, Reb Srulik, I have known you for years. We grew up together! It doesn’t make sense; of course, you aren’t a spy. Let me see what I can do here.” The general asked the police to wait, and he went to his office.
Meanwhile, Reb Srulik turned to Hashem and pleaded, “Hashem, I have no idea who this person is, but he seems to think he knows me. Hashem, please let this be the pesach, the opening for my yeshua!” A few minutes later, the general returned with official paperwork that was stamped. He relieved the policemen of their responsibilities towards their prisoner and then turned to Reb Srulik. “Listen, we’ve been good friends for a long time, and I was able to get in touch with some people and pull some strings to get you free. This was all a misunderstanding. On behalf of the Austrian Empire, I apologize. You can go on your way now; you’re free to go.”
Bewildered but grateful, Reb Srulik thanked the officer and quickly found a way to cross the border to return home. While traveling home, he thought about his mysterious savior and how the general seemed to recognize him throughout the entire encounter, while he himself was sure that he’d never seen the general before in his life. He recognized that this had been an open miracle from Hashem, and in his gut, he felt that his Rebbe, Reb Meir Premishlaner, had something to do with it. As soon as he got home, he went straight to his Rebbe. “Ah, welcome back, Srulik.” Before he had a chance to open his mouth, his Rebbe continued, “Do you have any idea how many strings I had to pull and how much I had to do to get you out of that prison cell?! Baruch Hashem I was able to do it and Baruch Hashem you’re home.”
Take It To Go!
Harbei shluchim laMakom — The Ribono Shel Olam has many messengers. Every single time a person experiences something that is good and positive, he should remember that it was Hashem that sent you that smile and that chizuk. Hashem should bless us that we should be able to hear good news, experience good things, and see Hashem’s hand in everything that happens to us.
This article was found in Nekuda Tova Issue 63.
