זאת החיה אשר תאכלו (שמיני יא:ב)

It is well known that the holy Rebbe Reb Zusha of Hanipoli zt”l would travel from city to city, conducting himself in a state of galus. On one occasion, he arrived in the city of Kotno, whose inhabitants were not particularly G-d-fearing. When they saw this unfamiliar stranger, who conducted himself with great stringency, they mocked him. Even the young children joined in, laughing at him and running after him.

Reb Zusha turned to the children and gently called out, “Dear children, come to me.” The children gathered around him in the shul, and Reb Zusha stood in their midst and said, “My dear children, look at me.” They assumed he was about to show them something entertaining—but instead, he simply gazed deeply into each child’s face, silently and intently. After a few moments, he dismissed them and told them to go home.

That evening, when the mothers served supper, the children refused to eat. One cried out, “How can I drink chalav akum?” Another protested, “How can I eat non-kosher butter?” A third exclaimed, “We can’t eat meat that wasn’t properly salted!”

As the mothers spoke among themselves, each one was astonished to hear that the others were experiencing the same sudden change. “My son insists we must kasher the pots!” one said.

An uproar broke out in the town. Something had clearly stirred within the children—they refused to partake in anything not fully kosher. The townspeople soon realized that this must be the effect of the strange visitor. He must be a holy man, and since they had mocked him, they resolved to seek his forgiveness and ask him to guide them in teshuvah.

They approached Reb Zusha, asked mechilah, and were inspired to do sincere teshuvah. They resolved to strengthen their kashrus standards and escorted Reb Zusha out of the city with great honor and reverence.