The Maggid of Mezeritch, who took over the Chassidus after the passing of the Baal Shem Tov, once shared the following story with his Chassidim. He was once by the Baal Shem Tov immediately after Havdalah on Motzoei Shabbos, when there was a knock on the door and there stood an elderly woman, collecting tzedakah. Everyone was still wearing their Shabbos clothing, but the Baal Shem Tov told the Chassidim to put their hands in their pockets and take out whatever money they have to give to this lady. Miraculously, everyone who was present found money in their pocket, and when they pooled it all together it was exactly the amount of money that she needed!
The Mezeritcher Maggid then asked his Chassidim, what was the miracle about this story? One Chasid answered that the miracle was that they found money in the pockets of their Shabbos clothes. Another said it was that the amount of money they found added up to the exact amount the women needed, and so on. The Mezeritcher replied that, yes, these are miracles, but the most significant part of the story was when the Baal Shem Tov told them to take money out of their pockets, they all immediately put their hands in their pockets. Despite the fact that the Chassidim were in their Shabbos clothes, and knew they had no money on them, they all had complete faith in their Rebbe!
This is an important lesson that we need to learn when we hear stories of tzaddikim – not only do we learn how great the tzadikim were, but to have faith in tzadikim, to believe in them and their teachings, and the lessons we learn from them. Emunas chachamim is of vital importance for ourselves and our children!
This article was found in Nekuda Tova Issue 2.