כי לא אעזבך עד אשר עשיתי את אשר דברתי לך (ויצא כה: כז)
Hashem told Yaakov, I will not forsake you (in Lavan’s home) until I do everything I promised you…
The Tzemach Tzedek of Viznitz zt’’l related the following story on this posuk:
A chassid once approached the holy Kedushas Levi zt’’l to bemoan his fate, saying he recently lost a lot of money due to some business deals gone sour and he’s now greatly in debt. “One good fortune I have,” continued the chassid, “that no one is aware of my misfortune, and people think that I’m still wealthy.”
The Kedushas Levi told him to purchase a lottery ticket, and Hashem will help. “But, the chassid retorted, “I’m sure the Rebbe’s idea will come to fruition, but who knows when? It can take a while until the winnings, and until then, how can I repay my lender’s their money due to them, and, I also have a daughter that needs to get married accompanied with a large dowry that I promised?”
“Don’t worry, Hashem will take care of you in between, too!” the Kedushas Levi reassured him. And so the chassid purchased a lottery ticket and started heading home, stopping overnight to rest at a roadside inn. It so happened that a local governor and his servants also slept over at same inn for the evening.
During the night, the governor dreamt that a Jew was sleeping in the same inn as him and that the Jew possessed the winning lottery ticket. He was also advised to switch lottery tickets with the Jew. The governor awoke from his dream, laughed it off, and went back to sleep. But alas, the dream repeated itself as soon as he fell asleep. He realized that this dream was no-nonsense, and he sent his servants to find out if there was a Jew sleeping there, and if yes, they should bring the Jew to him.
His servants abided and brought the surprised chassid to the governor. The governor asked the chassid if he had purchased a lottery ticket, and the chassid answered, “yes.”
“Can we switch lottery tickets,” commanded the governor. “I’ll give you a nice sum of money for it.” But the chassid refused to obey. The governor promised him more money, but the chassid refused to budge until the governor became annoyed at his stubbornness and told his servants to forcefully grab away the ticket from the chassid.
When the governor had the lottery ticket in his hand, he told the chassid, “really, I can let you go with nothing, but I don’t want to be considered a robber, so I’ll give you my lottery ticket and also the largest amount I offered you for your ticket.”
The chassid took the governor’s lottery ticket and money and headed home. With this money, he could marry off his daughter amply and pay back his debts, and a short while later, the governor’s lottery ticket was the winning lottery ticket.
Following the lottery win, the chassid returned to the Kedushas Levi to share his wonderful fortune. The Kedushas Levi told the chassid: “I saw your mazel (lot) isn’t good, so I had the governor be convinced through a dream to switch lottery tickets since I knew that your lottery ticket isn’t the lucky one. And since you needed money in between to marry off your daughter, the governor still paid you for switching tickets!”
The chassid left the Kedushas Levi and became wealthier than before.
The Tzemach Tzedek concluded the story by saying that he now understands what Hashem told Yaakov: כי לא אעזבך עד אשר עשיתי את אשר דברתי לך – “I won’t forsake you in Lavan’s home, but עד אשר עשיתי – and what will be afterward?” One can’t be without Hashem’s divine presence. So the pasuk continues עד – the final yeshuah – redemption will come, Hashem won’t forsake Yaakov – He will send him smaller acts of divine assistance in between.
