The Rizhiner Rebbe was a great gaon and tzaddik, and he was from the leaders of all Chassidic rebbes in his time. He had a warm, accepting personality, one that drew others like a magnet. Jews from all walks of life were attracted by his kindness and caring, and he was able to bring many Jews closer to Hashem.

Every erev Shabbos, the Rizhiner Rebbe would go to the mikvah, where he would purify himself in preparation of the holiest day of the week. One week, however, when he returned from the mikvah, it was clear that his mind was not at ease. A serious expression had replaced the welcoming smile usually worn on his face, and he paced back and forth in front of his home restlessly.

The hours were passing, shkiah was rapidly approaching, and still, the Rizhiner Rebbe could not find peace of mind. “Shmuel,” he called to his trusty gabbai, “Please go to the rav and ask him to please come here.”

It was erev Shabbos for the rav, too, and he was sitting at home, engrossed in his own spiritual preparations when the rebbe’s gabbai knocked on his door. Although it was already close to Shabbos, he could not refuse the rebbe, and so the rav joined the gabbai on the short walk back to the Rizhiner Rebbe’s home.

The Rizhiner Rebbe was waiting tensely for the rav, and he greeted him with a sigh of relief. He requested of Shmuel to bring cups of tea and then turned apologetically to his guest. “I’m sorry for bothering you so close to Shabbos, but I am extremely uneasy and I need your help.”

“Please, tell me what I can do,” the rav responded.

“There is something going on, and I need you to rule on a halachic matter,” the rebbe said tersely. “Please, listen closely to all the facts and issue a ruling so that I will be able to welcome the Shabbos properly.”

“I’m listening,” the rav said, leaning forward.

“There was a man named Henoch who had an extremely generous and devoted personality. He was an askan who worked hard for his community, constantly going out of his way to do chesed for others. In addition to all his klal work, from which he didn’t earn a penny, Henoch also operated a flourishing livestock business, and he was very well-off financially. People trusted him and appreciated doing business with him, and he had contracts with Jews and gentiles alike. Even the poritz liked dealing with him.

“Over time, he also became the known address for people who wanted a safe place to deposit their money. Being that most people do not live in well-protected homes, cash assets are vulnerable to theft and damages. Henoch, however, had a big, well-protected safe, and he gladly allowed others to store their life savings in his safe. A large percentage of his depositors were widows and orphans, who were afraid to keep large sums of money at home.

“One day, a government representative approached Henoch with an enticing business proposal. The government owned many acres of forest land adjacent to the city, and they wanted to use a portion of the land to expand the city to house the growing population. However, this was an extremely costly venture, and there were not enough municipal funds to cover the project. The government therefore wanted to take Henoch as a partner. In exchange for investing a large percentage of the capital, Henoch would receive all the trees from the deforested part of the land to sell as timber, along with the remaining forest.

“While the offer was an attractive one, there were some clauses involved that made Henoch a little nervous. The most worrying stipulation was that once Henoch signed the first contract making him a partner in the venture, he would need to sign all future paperwork immediately upon notice. If the government were to come with paperwork and he were to stall, he would lose his entire investment and the rest of the contract would be voided. They did not want to deal with someone who would dilly dally and delay the project.

“Henoch considered this clause for a long moment, and then decided that it was worth it. While the risk of losing his entire initial outlay was there, and it was a very steep risk, the profits he stood to gain weighed down his perspective toward the positive side. He rationalized that if he was organized and made signing the government paperwork a priority, he would be able to fully comply with this stipulation.

“With this settled in his mind, there was still something else bothering him. The initial investment, a tremendous sum of money, was due upon signing the partnership contract, and Henoch did not have that much money liquid. He thought quickly, trying to figure out how he could come up with such a large sum of cash in such a short time.

“The answer presented itself quickly, but it took some time before Henoch became comfortable with the idea. There was a princely sum of money sitting in his safe; money that did not belong to him, but to the many different Jews, including tens of widows and orphans, who had entrusted him with their lifesavings. If Henoch were to ‘borrow’ that money and give it to the government, he would buy enough time to liquidate some of his assets and return the ‘loan’ to his safe. The depositors, whose money would be right back where it belonged in just a few weeks’ time, would never have to know about the deal.

“His decision made, Henoch signed the contract and handed over the money, trying to still the feeling of unease that had squirreled its way into his stomach. Everything will be fine, he told himself. My plan is foolproof. There’s a large profit to be made, and everything will be fine.

“What he did not realize was that the stipulation that he sign all future documents immediately had been inserted into the contract by a member of the government who hated Jews. This government official wanted to lay his hands on Henoch’s money, without having to give him a share in the profits, and this was his means of accomplishing his evil goal. He waited until Shabbos before sending the representative to Henoch with the next batch of papers to sign.

“When the representative arrived with the paperwork on Shabbos afternoon, Henoch panicked. It was Shabbos! How could he desecrate the holy Shabbos?! On the other hand, the money of so many Jews, including many widows and orphans, was tied up in this investment. Was he even allowed to forfeit their money, money he had stolen from them?!

“Henoch looked around wildly, torn between two conflicting choices. How could he lose the lifesavings of so many who had trusted him? But how could he write on Shabbos?! ‘Hashem!’ he cried out in a pained voice, feeling the noose tightening around his neck. ‘You know I love Shabbos! But I also love widows and orphans! How can I choose?!’

“He was trapped, and he felt like he was choking. Gasping for breath, he grabbed the pen and signed his name on the paper.

“As soon as he finished signing, the energy whooshed out of Henoch and he felt limp and lifeless. How could he have signed away his Shabbos for money? How had he sunken so low? Shabbos was worth more than all the money in the world!

“Tormented by his guilt, he fell into a deep depression. Besides for cashing out on some of his investments to repay the ‘loan’ he’d stolen from the deposits in his safe, he could not bring himself to speak to anyone or to circulate within society. Gone was his vitality, his enthusiasm, his zest for life. In its place was a new Henoch, sunken, withdrawn, and always half-asleep.

“With time, Henoch grew sicker and sicker,” the Rizhiner Rebbe concluded. “And just a short while ago, he passed away. When he came to his judgement, there were many good deeds in his favor, but the Bais Din Shel Maalah ruled that he needed to be punished for his chilul Shabbos. Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and today, Friday, he underwent difficult suffering.

“Today, when I came out of the mikvah, I suddenly began to feel the pain of Henoch, and I realized that if only a rav would rule favorably on his case, he would no longer have to suffer.” The rebbe looked at the rav sitting across from him. “So tell me, please, can you pasken on this case? I will not go to shul until you issue a ruling.”

The rav looked pensive. “Henoch was wrong,” he stated, unequivocally. “He desecrated the Shabbos for the sake of money, and there is no justification at all for such a thing. He should have taken the loss. His judgement was wrong, and he sinned. That’s an undisputable fact.

“However, when he sinned, Henoch’s heart was facing toward good intentions. He ached for the widows and orphans who would have to suffer due to his actions. So although this does not condone his deed, at least it demonstrates that he acted with the needs of poor orphans and widows in mind. His calculation was skewed, but at least it included the devastated hearts of those who would lose their money. So while his sin is there, and it is severe, it’s not on the same level as someone who desecrates Shabbos for pleasure or to forgo a personal loss.”

“So tell me, what do you pasken?” the Rizhiner Rebbe asked.

“Although Henoch did the wrong thing, because he did it out of concern for widows and orphans, he should be treated with leniency,” the rav ruled. “Even though it was a meizid, a willful desecration, there is room for leniency.”

The Rizhiner Rebbe jumped up and hugged the rav warmly. “If the Earthly court has ruled that he be treated with leniency, the Heavenly court will surely concur,” he exclaimed. “Now we can ask Hashem to forgive Henoch for his sin, because he did it with the welfare of so many downtrodden Jews in mind.”

With that, he went into Shabbos, his mind finally at peace, contemplating the meticulousness of schar and onesh. For one who sins is punished according to the exact degree of severity, with every sigh of regret and even the minutest of intentions included in the calculation.

Have a Wonderful Shabbos!

This story is taken from tape #A107