By Dovid Zaklikowski for COLlive and Hasidic Archives
After much effort and great expense, the people of Berdychiv had managed to obtain a single esrog to use on the holiday of Sukkos. The precious citrus fruit was kept in the home of the great Chassidic leader, Rabbi Levi Yitzchok – the Berditchever. The townspeople were to visit the rabbi every day in order to make the blessing over the “four species.”
On the first day of the festival, Rabbi Levi Yitzchok’s aide began to prepare for the lengthy process: First, Rabbi Levi Yitzchok himself would perform the mitzvah, followed by the town’s other respected rabbis, then all the rest of the people. “I will be the last, though I have worked so hard to help everyone else,” the aide thought sadly.
Then it occurred to him that he could make the blessing first and no one would be the wiser. He seized the fruit, but it slipped through his fingers and fell to the ground. In horror, he saw that the stem had broken off, making it invalid to use for the mitzvah.
The aide went to Rabbi Levi Yitzchok and began to weep. Now no one in the town would be able to perform the mitzvah, and it was his fault. He expected the rabbi to become angry. Instead, Rabbi Levi Yitzchok turned his eyes to heaven and exclaimed, “Master of the World! Look what kind of nation you have! They care so much for your commandments that they weep when they cannot fulfill them.”
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