A Distant Relation

A man in great need of a yeshuah wrote his name and request on a kvittel and brought it to the holy Chozeh of Lublin. He set the kvittel before the tzaddik and asked for salvation, but the Chozeh said nothing. The man understood that his salvation must be far off and hard to bring about, so he tried another approach and reminded the Chozeh that they were related, and begged him to help one of his own flesh and blood. In truth they were second or third cousins through shared grandparents. The Chozeh said, “Nu, it's a distant relation,” and left it at that. The man turned away sadly.

Rav Naftoli of Ropshitz, a talmid of the Chozeh, saw him leaving with his head down and asked what had happened. The man told him everything, including the failed mention of his family ties. Rav Naftoli smiled. “I know just the thing,” he said. “Soon the Rebbe will daven Minchah. When he reaches the first berachah of the silent Shemoneh Esrei and says, ‘G-d of Avraham, G-d of Yitzchok and G-d of Yaakov,’ listen for that moment and whisper back his own words: ‘Nu, it's just a distant relation.’ That will surely work.”

The man did as he was told. As the tzaddik davened, at the place where we invoke the merit of the Avos, he whispered, “Nu, it's just a distant relation.” After the tefillah, the Chozeh approached him and said, “You have succeeded, and your salvation has come. But tell me one thing. Was this one of Naftali's tricks?”