מה נורא המקום הזה אין זה כי אם בית אלקים…(ויצא כח:יז)

The Frierdige Rav of Belz zt”l related that when his holy grandfather, the Sar Shalom of Belz zt”l was in the midst of building the great shul in Belz, he urgently needed a large sum of money to complete the construction.

A wealthy woman, who had no children of her own, came before the Sar Shalom and asked him to promise her a son. She placed one hundred gold coins on the table—a tremendous sum in those days. The Sar Shalom, pleased with the amount that would greatly assist the building, said gently: “I cannot promise, but I will daven for you.”

The woman then added another hundred gold coins and again pleaded that the Rebbe promise her a child. Once more, the Sar Shalom replied: “I cannot promise, but I can daven, and Hashem will help.”

A third time, she placed another hundred coins on the table. Yet the Sar Shalom repeated the same words, offering tefillah but refusing to make a promise. Disappointed, the woman gathered all three hundred coins and left.

The Frierdige Rav concluded: “It was decreed from Heaven that my grandfather would complete the shul without her money. But this woman allowed the opportunity for a child to slip from her very hands—pushing the blessing off the table.”