The Rebbe's Soup

Rav Mendele Rymanover was one of the four main talmidim of Rebbe Reb Elimelech of Lizhensk. It is told that before he was revealed as a tzaddik and Rebbe with ruach hakodesh (divine intuition), he sat at Rebbe Reb Elimelech's table like any other devoted chassid.

One Shabbos, the Rymanover was sitting with the other chassidim when the shamash brought in the Rebbe's soup and set it in front of the Rebbe. The Rebbe took the bowl in his hands, overturned it, and spilled its contents onto the table. Suddenly gripped by fear, the Rymanover cried out, "Oy, Rebbe, surely they will put us all in jail. You must stop immediately."

The other guests almost burst out laughing at such strange words from Rav Mendele, but they restrained themselves in the presence of their holy Rebbe. Rebbe Reb Elimelech said to him, "Relax, my son, we are all safe. We are all here right now." The others were astonished until the Rebbe explained what had happened.

A high-ranking government official had decided to pass a harsh decree against the Jews. He had tried many times before, without success, to write out the charges and have the king stamp and seal them with his ring. That day he wrote out the charges once again, determined that nothing would stop him this time. He was about to use sand to blot the ink and dry it when the Rebbe overturned his soup bowl. The official became confused, picked up the inkwell instead, and spilled ink all over the accusation he had just written.

"This young man," the Rebbe concluded, indicating Rav Mendele, "was able to witness what I did, but only by divesting himself fully from the physical world. He forgot that we were in this room. He imagined that I had actually used my hand and overturned the inkwell, and in his fear he called out, for he thought we would be arrested for my actions." Now everyone understood how lofty a level of ruach hakodesh this young man could perceive.

Once Rav Mendel told his teacher that he had actually seen the malach who removes the light before the darkness and the darkness before the light, as described in the first berachah of Maariv. Rebbe Reb Elimelech answered, "But I already saw this malach in my youth."