רב לך אל תוסף דבר אלי עוד בדבר הזה (ואתחנן ג:כו)

When the holy Megaleh Amukos zt”l served as Rav in Cracow (Kraków, Poland), a bochur (teenage lad) arrived in the city and offered to work at a shop. The bochur set terms with his employer that he would only agree to be his employee if he could designate time to daven in the local Beis Medrash (Shul) in the mornings and evenings. His employer agreed.

Business soared when the bochur started working in the shop, and the employer became very successful. One day, some businesspeople from a different city came to the shop. The store was hectic, and the owner was looking for his helper. However, the bochur had yet to arrive at work. The employer ran to the Beis Medrash, thinking that if the bochur were still davening, he would not disturb him, but if he were to be found wasting his time, he would put him in his place.

When he arrived at the Beis Medrash, he saw the bochur gazing at the engraved pictures on the ceiling. The employer became so enraged that he slapped the bochur across the face. All the congregants ran over to see what had happened. The employer got embarrassed and ran back to his shop.

Meanwhile, the bochur packed away his tefillin and went to the Megaleh Amukos to bid his farewell before he left the city.  The Megaleh Amukos, who knew the qualities of this exceptional bochur, tried to persuade him to stay.  But the bochur had already made up his mind to leave.

The Megaleh Amukos asked him to share a Torah thought before he leaves, as Chazal says: “אל יפטר אדם מחברו אלא מתוך דבר הלכה” – a person should not take leave of his friend without saying words of Torah.” The  Megaleh Amukos then said to the bochur: “I have toiled very hard until I could complete a compilation of explanations on these words: “ואתחנן אל ה’ בעת ההוא לאמר.”  I managed to prepare 252 individual commentaries, the number which is equal to the numerical value of the words “רב לך.”  Before you leave us, please share your thoughts on this passuk”.

The bachur consented and – to the astonishment of the holy Megaleh Amukos – he proceeded to explain the ‘give-and-take’ between Hashem and Moshe Rabenu: As is well-known, the Heavenly throne – also known as “מרכבה עליונה” the chariot up above – is carried around (as it were) on four legs.  Chazal teaches us that the first three of these four legs carry the faces of our Patriarchs: Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov, respectively; each leg is adorned with a different picture.  

Moshe Rabbenu knew this and was now begging Hashem to allow him to come into Eretz Yisroel to merit being that the fourth leg, which would be adorned with his own likening. 

Hashem told him: “אל תוסף דבר אלי עוד בדבר הזה – do not continue to speak to Me further on this matter.”  This is because HaShem had already assigned this fourth leg for Dovid Hamelech – as alluded to in the letters making up the word “בדבר”: they stand for בן דוד ברגל רביעי- King David will be the fourth wheel.”  

At this, the bochur took leave of the Megaleh Amukos.

When the storeowner saw that his worker was still not arriving, he had terrible remorse for slapping him and, with a broken heart, went to the home of the Rav.  The Megaleh Amukos told him: “Your sleeping him did not hurt at the least; he did not even feel it. However, because of you, I lost a treasure house, which hurts me immensely!  You took away from me a dear friend.  He is far away, and I would not  see him anymore, but I’m happy with the words of wisdom he left behind!”