I’ll tell you a maaseh. There were two Yidden living in the city of Utepsk. One’s name was R’ Shmuel and one’s name was R’ Yankele. Besides being good friends, they were also both chassidim of the Rebbe Maharash of Lubavitch.
At one point, R’ Shmuel got involved in a business deal with a new partner, which ended up being a very bad decision. Not only did he lose money on that deal, but it was bad enough that it affected all of his parnassa, and he found himself going through very difficult times.
In the meantime, business was going well for R’ Yankele, but he felt bad for his friend who was struggling. The next time R’ Yankele went to visit the Rebbe, after giving him his kvittel and asking for a brocha for himself and his family, he asked the Rebbe for a brocha for his friend R’ Shmuel. He explained to the Rebbe that R’ Shmuel had gotten involved in a bad business deal and lost all his money. Although the Ribono Shel Oilem does everything with justice, and this must be the way Hashem wants it, nevertheless, he asked if the Rebbe could please give a brocha to R’ Shmuel, who was going through a hard time.
The Rebbe heard this and let out a kretzch (sigh), and in a somber way, gave a brocha that R’ Shmuel’s business should pick up again and that he should be matzliach.
As R’ Yankele entered his hometown on the way back, he was met by one of his business partners, who ran frantically to meet him. He told R’ Yankele that there had been a fire in one of his properties, and the damage was very significant. They went together to assess the loss and discovered that it was 10,000 rubles worth of damage, a very large sum of money.
R’ Yankele was upset about the loss, but his troubles didn’t end there. The next night, he was woken up in the middle of the night by another frantic business associate. Another one of his properties had caught fire, causing another 10,000 rubles of damage. And bizarrely enough, the very next day, it happened a third time.
R’ Yankele was terribly distraught. Without hesitation, he packed his bags and went straight back to Lubavitch to see the Rebbe. He didn’t know what to do and broke down in tears in front of the Rebbe. The Rebbe saw how stressed and beside himself R’ Yankele was and asked what had happened. R’ Yankele told him that in just three days, he had lost 30,000 rubles. He couldn’t understand why this was happening or what he was supposed to do about such a loss.
The Rebbe turned to R’ Yankele and asked him a question. “Three days ago, you asked me for a brocha for your friend R’ Shmuel, who lost his entire business—even more than your 30,000 rubles. At the time, when you told me about his story, you made sure to add that whatever Hashem does is for the best, and that He only acts with justice. All of a sudden, when it’s your money that is lost, you lose yourself, you have no peace, and you’re just crying and distraught. All of a sudden, Hashem doesn’t act with justice?”
“It should be the opposite,” the Rebbe continued. “For your friend, you should go completely out of your keilim, losing your mind and not believing in hashgacha protis out of the pain you feel for a fellow Yid. But for yourself you should firmly believe that the Ribono Shel Oilem knows what He is doing.”
Reb Yankele got the message. He turned to the Rebbe and asked what he could do to help R’ Shmuel, and what he could do to help himself.
The Rebbe told him that to rectify the situation, he should help his friend by loaning him 3,000 rubles so that he could get back on his feet. This would bring the kaparah he needed and would bring parnassa back to both of them. Right after he lent the money, he would receive a business opportunity for an investment in Moscow. He should take that opportunity; it will be very successful.
So R’ Yankele went back home and went straight to R’ Shmuel. Of course, he couldn’t tell him the whole backstory—how he had spoken about his tzara in comparison to his own—so he didn’t mention anything about that. He simply told him that he knew he was going through a hard time and he wanted to lend him 3,000 rubles to help him get back on his feet.
To his dismay, R’ Shmuel’s response was, “No thank you!” He tried to push him, reassuring him that it was not a problem at all, that he could afford it, and that it would help him recover from his loss. But R’ Shmuel didn’t budge, he didn’t like taking loans and didn’t want to borrow any money.
Now R’ Yankele started getting nervous. After all, his own parnassa was on the line here as well! But with no choice, R’ Yankele gave up on trying to convince him and left his house. The moment he left, he was greeted by a business associate who was excited to tell him about a fantastic business opportunity in Moscow. Now R’ Yankele was confused. The Rebbe had told him he needed to lend R’ Shmuel the money and then take a business opportunity in Moscow. But R’ Shmuel had refused to accept the loan. How could he go forward with the business opportunity?
With no choice, he told his associate that he needed a few more days to decide, and he went straight back to Lubavitch to consult with the Rebbe.
He told the Rebbe the whole story. The Rebbe told him that he had a plan. R’ Yankele should give the Rebbe the money, and the Rebbe would send his assistant to offer the money to R’ Shmuel. R’ Shmuel would not turn down money that came from the Rebbe.
And so it was. R’ Yankele gave the Rebbe the money, the Rebbe passed it to R’ Shmuel, and R’ Yankele ran back to take the Moscow business opportunity. In a short time, both of them recovered financially and started to become very successful again.
Take It To Go!:
The lesson we learn from this story is that when it comes to our own challenges, we should try to respond with emunah and bitachon: “Hashem is in charge. He will certainly take care of me. This is for my own good.” We do our hishtadlus and try to retain our peace of mind, knowing we are in good Hands.
But if your friend is going through something difficult? Then we need to go crazy to help another Yid! For another Yid, we don’t focus on “everything Hashem does is for the best.” Rather, we do anything we possibly can to help him.
This article was found in Nekuda Tova Issue 48.