The Wonder Rabbi

Rav Yisrael of Husyatin was once walking down the street with his gabbai when a gentile approached and asked the attendant, "Who is this Rabbiner?"

The gabbai answered, "This is not just any Rabbiner. He is a Vunder Rabbiner, a wonder rabbi." (In Europe this was the title given to tzaddikim known to perform miracles.)

The gentile was taken aback and asked, "What exactly is a Vunder Rabbiner?"

The Husyatiner Rebbe heard the exchange and did not wait for his gabbai. He answered the man directly: "There are some rabbis who preside over an entire country, and others who preside over an entire district or community. Then there are rabbis who preside over one neighborhood, or one congregation or shul. And then there are Vunder Rabbiners. These rabbis rule and preside as rabbis over themselves."