The Divrei Chaim Casts His Bread Upon the Waters

The Divrei Chaim was approaching a busy train station in Vienna, surrounded by his chassidim, when he suddenly stopped. He said he could hear someone crying and asked his chassidim to find the source. One of them walked in the direction the Rav indicated and found a well-dressed young girl whose eyes were red from crying. It was clear she had been crying for a long time.

The chassid asked what was wrong. The girl, the daughter of a non-Jewish minister, said she had been going to travel home by train, but her money had been stolen and she was stranded. She had been sitting there crying for a long time, and no one had paid any attention. “What will I do now?” she said, beginning to cry again. “How will I get home?”

The chassid returned to Rav Chaim and told him why she was crying. At once the Rav took money from his pocket and said, “Go back to the girl with this money and tell her that Rabbiner Halberstam sent it.” The chassid did so, and the girl gratefully accepted the money and wiped away her tears.

Years later, a Sanzer chassid, Reb Shmuel, came to Rav Chaim in great distress. Reb Shmuel owned a thriving boot factory, and the Hungarian army was one of his customers. The army had recently ordered a large supply of boots for the coming winter. A jealous non-Jewish competitor took matters into his own hands and told the army general that Reb Shmuel’s boots were made of inferior materials and that he was a liar and a thief, like all Jews. The general readily accepted the false charges and informed the Hungarian government. Now Reb Shmuel faced serious charges and possible imprisonment.

Rav Chaim listened and said, “Do not worry at all. Go to the justice minister in Lemberg and tell him that Rabbiner Halberstam said you are not guilty and these accusations are false.”

Reb Shmuel traveled to Lemberg, but the justice minister was not in his office. Remembering Rav Chaim’s assurance, he went to the minister’s home. To his surprise, the minister invited him in right away and let him tell his story. Reb Shmuel ended with the words, “Rabbiner Halberstam told me to come to you and say in his name that I am not guilty and that these are false accusations.”

The minister said nothing, but his wife, who had been listening, turned to Reb Shmuel and asked with great interest, “Who told you to come here?” “Rabbiner Halberstam,” answered Reb Shmuel, surprised by her interest. “Rabbiner Halberstam of Sanz?” she asked excitedly. “Yes,” he said, now even more curious why this woman was so interested in his Rebbe.

She turned to her husband. “Do you know who that is? When I was a girl, I was stuck in the Vienna train station after all my money was stolen. I sat there crying for a whole hour, and not one person in that crowded station paid attention to me except that Rav, Rabbiner Halberstam. He heard me crying and gave me enough money to buy a ticket home. He is an angel of G-d, this Rabbiner Halberstam, and I will remember him as long as I live. If such an angel is supporting this man, he surely is not guilty.”

After Reb Shmuel was cleared of the charges, he went straight to Sanz and told Rav Chaim what had happened. Rav Chaim smiled and said, “This is what the verse means: ‘Cast your bread upon the waters, for after many days you will find it.’ When you treat every person, created in the image of Hashem, as he deserves, you will only gain. And this is not only about important people.”