143rd yahrtzeit: 25 Shevat Buried: Keninsberg, Russia
Reb Yisrael Salanter was a big gaon and tzadik, who was famous for being the founder of the “Mussar Movement,” advocating greatly for the study of mussar to help us learn good middos.
FUN FACT
Did you know that there is a specific story that led to Reb Yisroel Salanter deciding to start the Mussar movement?
In his times, there was a simple shoemaker of old, who would repair shoes and earn a couple of dollars for his livelihood. Needless to say, he was no rich man from this work. One fine morning, this Yid went out and bought a lottery ticket and won! Imagine that, overnight, he turned into a multimillionaire!
When his daughter reached marriageable age, he was ready to offer his future son-in-law full financial support for his entire life so he could sit and learn Torah without worrying about parnassa. His daughter soon got engaged to the distinguished son of the Rav of the town.
But there was one Yid in the town who was very jealous of all this. He was a shoemaker for many years, and he couldn’t stand how wealthy this man became, and that his daughter was about to marry the Rav’s daughter.
His yetzer hara got the better of him, and he did a terrible thing. As the chuppah was going on, he came over to the former shoemaker with a broken shoe, and in front of the Rav and the whole town asked him: how much would you charge to fix this?
Just imagine how embarrassing this was for the Yid! The second he heard the question, his face turned white, and he fell down unconscious. Within a few minutes, this poor Yid passed away!
When Reb Yisrael heard this terrible story, he decided then and there to take on a life mission of teaching Yidden good middos, and that is what caused him to start the Mussar Movement.
A STORY
Once, Reb Yisrael was traveling and came to a faraway town where there were very few Yidden. He looked for a Jewish inn. He finally found one. When he walked in, the innkeeper noticed that he looked like a Rabbi and asked if he could shecht a cow for him. Reb Yisroel didn’t agree right away, but a few minutes later, he asked the innkeeper if he could lend him 5 rubles.
The innkeeper refused. “I don’t know who you are, how can I trust that you will pay me back?”
Reb Yisrael lovingly looked up at him and exclaimed, Reb Yid, when I walked in here, you asked me right away if I can slaughter, without knowing who I am and if I actually know the halachos of shechting, but now when it comes to your money, you don’t want to lend me anything unless you know me!
Reb Yisroel, in his great wisdom, showed this Yid, that we should be at least as worried we are with our ruchniyus as we are with our gashmiyus!
This article was found in Nekuda Tova Issue 69.