The Rav at the Inn

It is told that when Rav Meshulem set out from Tismenitz for Pressburg, the notables and officials of Pressburg organized welcoming delegations along the route. One group stopped at an inn to eat and rest before the Rav's arrival. They treated themselves to a fine meal, all the while singing the praises of their new Rav, his phenomenal knowledge and his piety. From time to time one of them went out to scout the road for signs of his arrival. “Why is the Rav's wagon taking so long? Why is he so late?”

Meanwhile, at the same inn, a man and his wife sat inconspicuously eating a meal of dry bread. One of the Pressburg notables struck up a conversation with them. “Where are you from?” he asked.

“From Tismenitz,” answered the man.

“And where are you headed?”

“To Pressburg.”

“What is your name?”

“Meshulem.”

The questioner understood that this was the new Rav of Pressburg, Rav Meshulem Igra, who always fled from false honor and had no wish to enter the city with jubilant fanfare. Yet honor seeks out those who shun it. When the notables learned that their Rav was in the inn, they immediately lifted him and his wife onto a grand carriage and prepared a majestic entrance into the city.