Wading through the Mud | Rabbi Moshe Weinberger

Let me share with you a story from the Tzaddik R’ Motel Chernobyler, זכותו יגן עלינו. One of the Chasidim of R’ Motel was very wealthy and he owned a beautiful home. And him and his wife were מכניסי אורחים, they were very kind. Anybody who came, they were welcomed in this house. They would have a place to eat, a place to sleep. There was one condition, however. They had expensive carpets and beautiful floors, and whoever came into the house, the rule was you have to take off your boots. Remember, in those years they didn't have paved roads. Everything was filthy, was muddy. So one day, there was a knock on the door. And this wonderful Gvir, we'll call him R’ Yankel, opened the door. And who was there? R’ Motel Chernobyler himself, the great Tzaddik himself was there. And the Rebbe said: Can I come in? So I don't know if he looked at the Rebbe's boots or not, but he didn't ask the Rebbe to take off his shoes. The Rebbe came in and the Rebbe said: Yankel, I want to tell you a story. He said: Many, many years ago, there was a Jew who was not living a very upright life, and he was doing things that were not good. But like every person, he had good in him, as well, and he had a great heroic moment. He was traveling and it was raining, it was terrible weather, and he heard crying and screaming. And he went to see what was going on. And there was a Jewish family that was on a wagon, and the wagon was sinking, deep into the mud. And this Jew tied up his horses to pull out, to do whatever he could, till he first... and he was trying and he's pulling back and forth. Finally, he was, after much hard work, he was successful, and he was able to save the lives of this family. Now, as a result of all of this hard work, and he wasn't so healthy to begin with, he died. And when this person came to the next world, in the Beis Din shel Ma’alah there was a commotion. And the scale was brought out before the Beis Din, and on the scale, were all of his Aveiros. And the scale was tipping in a bad way, and they wanted to take him to a place that's not good. But then the other Mal’ach said: One second, he did the most amazing thing. He saved a Jewish family from dying. So they put the family onto the scale and it made a big change. It made a big dent. But they said it's not enough. Sorry. But then the Mal’ach said: One second, he didn't only save these people, they're going to have children and grandchildren and great grandchildren. All of those future generations should be put on the scale. That's the only thing that would be fair. Now the scale was ot-ot. The scale was almost in that place, but still... not enough. Until finally, the good Mal’ach said: One second, don't take him away. What about all the mud? He climbed into the mud, into the schmutz, into the blota, he got filthy, in order to save that family. I believe that it's only right that the mud should be put on the scale, as well. And all of the Mal’achim were screaming, Whoever heard of such a thing? To put mud on the scale? Whatever. But the psak came down as follows, We're going to send this Jew back into the world. If he finds mud and dirt as something which is intolerable, then the psak will be that he has to go to the darker world. If, however, he tolerates that in his own home and overlooks that in his own home, so then he'll go to a much better place. And the Rebbe looked at Yankel and said, Yankel, that's you. From that day and on, Yankel had all the Chasidim in with their boots, with their dirty boots. And I was thinking about this a lot, and my thought was as follows. Moshiach’s coming any day, any minute. We see what's going on in the world. Any minute. And there are going to be all Tzaddikim, it's going to be a big tumult. Who knows what stadium they're going to get for that big אסיפה with Moshiach? It's going to be crazy. And then in the front aisles, there are going to be, like, a rowdy, you know, loud group, that are screaming and carrying and waving banners of ‘Moshiach is Here’ and all that. And there are going to be all these Talmidei Chachamim and Tzaddikim that are sitting behind them and are going to say, Who are these people that are put into the front row? And if they're going to have a טענה, what are we going to do? We’re going to lift up our boots, and we're going to show the mud that we live through, the blota that we're living through. And despite all of this mud, we never let go of HaKadosh Baruch Hu. Vayimaen.