(לא תשנא את אחיך בלבבך…(קדושים יט:יז

You shall not hate your brother in your heart.

After WWII, Reb Shlomo of Bobov zt’’l rebuilt chassidus Bobov from scratch and devoted himself to the survivors, especially the young bochurim.  To lift their spirits, the Bobover Rebbe zt’’l implemented a rotation that each Shabbos, a different bochur, should serve as his ‘meshamash’ – personal assistant.

One week, a bochur brought a hot plate of soup to the tish when suddenly the hot plate dropped out of his hands, and the boiling soup splattered over the Rebbe’s foot.  The Bobover Rebbe remained still as if nothing had occurred, while the Chassidim who witnessed the scene couldn’t understand how the Rebbe didn’t utter a sound or show any sign of pain.

After the tish, the gabbaim noticed that his foot was swollen, and the Rebbe was experiencing tremendous pain.

They asked the Rebbe why he didn’t reprimand the bochur for not being careful or complaining about the pain.

The Rebbe replied gently: “Pain comes and goes.  A swollen foot heals. But if I had told the bochur something, I would’ve caused others to bad mouth this bochur, saying he’s a ‘schlimazel – a person with no luck’ and a bad name doesn’t go away!”

Filed under Parshas Kedoshim |