ושמרו בני ישראל את השבת (כי תשא לא:טז)

The Chofetz Chaim zt”l was once told that a Rav in Vilna was arrested for reprimanding a Jewish storeowner to close his shop on Shabbos.  The Chofetz Chaim was taken over by the story and exclaimed, “I waited my whole life to be arrested for the sake and honor of Shabbos!”

The Chofetz Chaim was once summoned to a village to try and convince a wealthy manufacturer to keep his factory closed on Shabbos.  The village Rav told the Chofetz Chaim that the factory owners claim their merchandise will be ruined if the heating system is switched off for two consecutive days – Shabbos and Sunday, when it’s legally required to be closed.  The Rav advised the Chofetz Chaim to be prepared to ‘listen attentively’ to this claim, so he will gain the owner’s confidence so that his reply will have the desired effect.

The Chofetz Chaim replied: “I will not go into a conversation with them about their business processes, as they understand their business better than I do.  I will just lecture them about the greatness and holiness of Shabbos; I will explain to them that Shabbos is the essence of our Nation – without our precious Shabbos, there is no purpose in living!  If they heed my words and take my advice about keeping Shabbos, they will figure out how to keep their merchandise from becoming ruined!  I’m sure that no harm will occur to them in the merit of keeping Shabbos”.