Reb Leib’s kever
296th yahrtzeit: 4 Adar BURIED: Yaltushkiv, Ukraine
Reb Leib was a very mysterious tzadik, a close talmid of the heiligeh Baal Shem Tov. He had two mitzvos which he was famous for: one was pidyon shevoyim, helping Yidden get out of prison, and the second mitzvah was feeding the 36 hidden tzadikim in his generation.
Story
In one of Reb Leib’s many travels, he got stuck in a faraway town on erev Yom Kippur. Just imagine his disappointment when he came into the local shul and found that they only had 9 people including him. He couldn’t entertain the thought of davening without a minyan on this heilige day!
He asked the other Yidden if maybe there is a secular Yid around that they can invite to join with them. They said that the local poritz is actually a secular Yid, but unfortunately, he hates his fellow Yidden.
Reb Leib didn’t hesitate and ran out to the palace of the poritz, wearing his tallis and kittel. He walked right into the room of the poritz. The poritz was about to shoot him, but when he saw his saintly appearance, he suddenly felt a strong fear.
Reb Leib turned to him and said, “The Torah teaches us that it is never too late to do teshuvah. Come now with me to shul, be the tenth of the minyan on Yom Kippur, and you will be zoche to teshuvah.”
The poritz, as if in a trance, went after Reb Leib, came to the shul, and wrapped himself in a tallis!
As the chazzan chanted “al daas hamakom..” [a tefillah where we say that we are allowed to daven with sinners], everyone heard the poritz break into uncontrollable sobbing, and from then on, straight through Neilah, the poritz was just crying away.
As they neared the end of Neilah, where we all scream out Shema Yisrael, the poritz screamed out “Shema Yisrael” and passed away on the spot, having done a complete Teshuva!
Why was Reb Leib called with his mother’s name, Sarah?
When his mother was a little girl, the son of the local poritz, decided he wanted to marry her. When her parents heard of this, they quickly looked for someone who would marry her that night; this way, she would already be a married woman! They found an older man who agreed, and they got married. Afterwards, her father asked this man to give her a divorce, he refused, and she was happy to stay with him. It turns out he was a hidden tzadik, and he bentched her that they should have a child who will be a big tzadik!! His father, the old tzadik, was niftar before he was born, and his mother, the tzadekes, raised him, this is why he was called after his mother.
This article was found in Nekuda Tova Issue 70.