ושם אתנו נער עברי עבד (מקץ מא:יב)

And there is with us a young Jewish slave…Rashi comments “ארורים הרשעים שאין טובתם שלימה”- cursed are the wicked who don’t recognize good - when mentioning Yosef’s name– they added that he was a servant.

Reb Aharon of Belz zt’’l once traveled to Budapest to spend the Yomim Noraim (Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and Sukkos) together with his Budapest Chassidim.  To accommodate the huge crowd, the townspeople requested permission from a local Jewish girl’s school to use their lunchroom facilities for davening.

Some Belzer Chassidim started building a large sukkah in the school’s backyard, but the school administration stopped them, saying that they need their yard the day Sukkos is over. The chassidim argued that they’ll dismantle the sukkah as soon as Yom Tov is over, but to no avail, the administration wouldn’t concede.

The Chassidim went to Reb Aharon to discuss their predicament, and Reb Aharon was very distraught about the situation.  His shamesh (aid), Reb Shmuel Porges z’’l, seeing the Rebbes pain, said: ”ארורים הרשעים שאין טובתם שלימה.” When Reb Aharon heard this statement, he became even more upset and commanded Reb Shmuel to say three times “טובתם שלימה, טובתם שלימה, טובתם שלימה” (Good things). And since this episode occurred while Reb Aharon was sipping his morning coffee, Reb Aharon requested from Reb Shmuel to spill his coffee.  “I can’t drink a coffee that heard bad words said on a fellow Jew!”

After midnight that same day, a group of Chassidim came to tell Reb Aharon that the administration finally granted permission to build a sukkah on the condition that it gets dismantled as soon as Yom Tov is over.  Reb Aharon was very happy, and despite the late hour he summoned Reb Shmuel Porges and told him: “I told you it will be טובתם שלימה – good tidings!”

Filed under Parshas Mikaitz | Reb Aharon of Belz