The Chozeh of Lublin had a special garment he would wear whenever he attended a bris milah. One day, his talmidim noticed that he was wearing this garment even though there was no bris scheduled. They decided to not ask him right away, and to wait for the right time. On motzei Yom Kippur, the Rebbe was very b’simcha and talkative, and the talmidim took the opportunity to ask the Rebbe. He answered with a story.
There was a Jewish merchant who lived next to Lublin and would come every Friday to the marketplace. One week, he arrived late in Lublin, and by the time he was done in the marketplace, he realized he wouldn’t make it back to his home before Shabbos. He was not happy that he’d have to pay for a hotel for Shabbos, but saw no other option. Suddenly, he remembered that there was a big Rebbe in Lublin, and he figured he can try to get hosted by one of the chassidim.
The Yid went to the daven in the Chozeh’s shul and sure enough, he was totally taken care of and didn’t have to pay for a hotel room. After Shabbos, he went in to meet the Chozeh with a kvittel and a small donation.
This Yid passed away a while later. When he came up to the heavenly court, they didn’t let him in, saying that his bris had not performed correctly. He argued that it wasn’t his fault, but it didn’t help. But then he said that he was once seen by the great Chozeh from Lublin, who was famously able to see everything, and the Chozeh had said nothing, which means the Chozeh must have approved that his Bris was done properly! This plea was accepted. “On that day,” explained Chozeh,” it was as if he got his bris, so I was wearing my special Bris garment!”
This article was found in Nekuda Tova Issue 103.
