The lost money

The Chozeh of Lublin had a Chasid by the name of Reb Avraham Ponzier. This Reb Avraham had three daughters of marriageable age. In those days, the father was expected to offer a sizable dowry to marry off his daughter. Unfortunately, Reb Avraham did not have the money. His wife suggested that he should go to the Chozeh and ask what to do.

Following her advice, he came to the Chozeh and told him about his dire situation. The Chozeh advised him, “Travel to the city of Kremenchuk (at the time part of Poland, today in Ukraine) from where your salvation will come.

The Chasid did as his Rebbe told him. He packed a few holy books and set out on his journey. When he came to Kremenchuk, he did not know what he was supposed to do. But his trust and faith in his Rebbe was strong. He found a Jewish inn and asked if there was a room available to sleep. The innkeeper offered him a room and he settled in. He entered the room and sat down with his holy books to study as was his custom. In the beginning the innkeeper thought that the guest was a merchant and had come to do business in the city. Seeing that several days had passed, and his guest had not left his room the whole time; he sits and learns all day, and had not yet paid him anything at all, he decided to get to the bottom of it. He realized that this may be a poor man who does not have money to pay for his lodging.

The innkeeper came the room where the guest was staying and said to him, “This is not a hostel where one can stay without pay. If you do not produce the money to pay for your stay by tomorrow, I will be forced to take all your possessions in place of your pay, and you will need to go on your way.” The innkeeper left the room, and the Chasid continued his studies.

In the middle of the day, there was a knock on the door. A Jew unknown to Reb Avraham entered. He asked if he would please listen attentively to what he was about to share with him. And this is what he related to him.

“I am the melamed – teacher for the sons of the innkeeper. Once the innkeeper traveled for his business and earned a large amount of money. Upon his return home, he placed the money in a drawer in his cabinet and did not notice that he left the key in the keyhole of the drawer. When I saw this, my evil inclination got the better of me and I took all the money and hid it in the ground near the house. Several years have passed since this unfortunate incident. I never touched the stolen money and regretted from the depth of my heart what I had done. This gives me no rest for even a minute. How did I do such a terrible thing to steal from my boss who supports me and sees me as a good person?! Yet, I have still not returned the money. I am simply too ashamed and embarrassed to confess to him that I stole the money. Now that I have observed you for the last couple of days, I see that you are a G-d fearing person. No one would suspect you, since you are a guest from far away and you were not here when the theft took place. I hope you can help me rectify the situation. Please accept the money from me and use your wisdom to return it to its rightful owner.”

The Chasid agreed to the teacher’s request and the teacher gave him the full amount of money and left. The next day when the innkeeper arrived and requested payment from his guest for the days he spent at the inn, the Chasid turned to him with a question.

“Have you ever had a situation where money was stolen from you?” he asked.

The innkeeper, who had already put out of his mind his great pain at the loss, for ten years had passed since the incident, replied in the negative. But the Chasid was not put off. He did not let go and asked him to think again and try to remember if a considerable sum of money had been stolen from him. After some contemplation, the owner said to the Chasid:

“Yes, a large sum of money was stolen from me. But this happened so many years ago.”

The Chasid did not give him time to continue. Immediately he took out the package with the money and handed it to the owner, announcing, “Here is your lost money!”

The innkeeper, who had despaired of ever finding his hard-earned money, became very emotional and asked the Chasid how the money came to him. The Chasid answered that he was unable to reveal to him any of the details connected to the money and its return.  

The innkeeper then asked the Chasid what brought him to the city Kremenchuk?

The Chasid answered, “I am a very poor man and I have three daughters to marry off. My holy Rebbe, the Chozeh of Lublin sent me to this city and told me that my salvation will come from here.

The innkeeper asked the Chasid how much money he needs. The Chasid thought for a few moments and answered an amount he would need. Immediately the innkeeper took the full amount from his pocket and gave it to the Chasid.

When Reb Avraham returned to the Chozeh and told him all that had transpired, the Chozeh remarked: “I saw the intense repentance and regret of the teacher. Therefore, I needed to send you to this city so that you would be able to return the money to its rightful owner and in this merit G-d gave you what you need.  

The Chasid felt humbled to have been chosen to be a messenger for good and merited to marry off his daughters to fine upright young men.

Translated from Sippurei Tzadikim #583

*The Chozeh of Lublin 1745 – 1815 was a leading figure in the early years of the Chassidic movement. He became known as the Seer or Visionary because of his ability to gaze across great distances and see from one end of the world to the other and thus helped many Jewish people. He resided in Lublin, Poland and passed away on Tisha b’Av. He is buried in Lublin’s Old Jewish Cemetery. From among his illustrious students many of the well-known Chassidic courts emerged.