והיה אם שכוח תשכח את ה’ אלוקיך… (עקב ח:יט)

A Din Torah was once held before the Kreizer Rav zt”l, a son of the Divrei Chaim of Sanz zt”l, between Yosel Saltz and another individual. When the Beis Din ruled against Yosel, he refused to accept the verdict. As a result, the Kreizer Rav and the Beis Din placed him in cherem (ostracism).

At the time, the government had outlawed the use of cherem. In retaliation, Yosel informed the authorities, who sentenced the Kreizer Rav and the members of the Beis Din to imprisonment.

During that period, Maran Reb Yehoshua of Belz zt”l traveled to Sanz to finalize a shidduch between his grandson and the youngest son of the Sanzer Rebbe, Reb Shaya’le Tchechover zt”l. (It was the final year of the Divrei Chaim’s life.)

One of the Kreizer Rav’s chassidim approached Maran Reb Yehoshua and asked him to intercede with his mechutan, the Sanzer Rebbe, and request that he arouse Heavenly mercy on behalf of the Kreizer Rav and the Beis Din. “If they are imprisoned,” he pleaded, “it will cause a great chilul Hashem.”

When Maran conveyed the request, the Divrei Chaim responded with astonishment:

“What? Sitting in prison is a chilul Hashem? Yosef HaTzaddik sat in prison. Reb Yisroel of Ruzhin also sat in prison. A chilul Hashem is when a person forgets, even for a single moment, that there is a Ribbono Shel Olam!”