And Sichon didn’t let the Yidden pass through his border…
The Mitteler Rav Maran Rebbe Yehoshua of Belz zt’’l married off two children a week apart in Chernobyl, Russia. The first son, The Frierdiga Rav zt’’l Maran Rebbe Yissachar Dov married the daughter of Reb Shaya Zisha zt’’l, the son of Reb Aharon of Chernobyl zt’’l, and the second son, Reb Leibish zt’’l, married the daughter of Reb Menachem Nuchem of Loeb zt’’l, also a son of Reb Aharon of Chernobyl.
Two days following the second wedding, the Mitteler Rav took a walk with his gabbaim. Suddenly, he told his gabbai, “Order a horse and wagon now because I want to leave immediately! I must leave Russia because the earth is trembling beneath my feet…it’s dangerous for me to stay here – I must leave immediately!”
The gabbai was very surprised. It didn’t make sense for the father of the chassan to leave in the middle of Sheva Brochos. But if the Rebbe commands, the gabbai obeys. The Mitteler Rav made the wagon driver hurry, saying, “I want to pass the border as soon as possible.” After a few days of travel with a stopover at a Yiddish guest house for Shabbos, they safely passed the border between Russia and Galicia.
A few hours later, the Russian border patrol received an urgent message: “Be aware that the Belzer Rebbe is currently in Russia. When he attempts to pass the border, arrest him immediately!” (It seemed the the ‘maskilim’ – the Chassidic naysayers reported some slander to the Russian government about the Belzer Rebbe.)
Miraculously, the Mitteler Rav zt’’l sensed that he was in danger and fled Russia in time.
Meanwhile, his mechutan, Reb Aharon of Chernobyl, was disturbed by the Mitteler Rav’s sudden leave during Sheva Brochas. But when he learned of the Mitteler Rav’s great miracle, he exclaimed: “My Mechutan, the Belzer Rav, knows what he’s doing. He foresaw what was happening and prevented the worse from happening!”