It was Friday afternoon, and the Jewish residents of Pressburg, Czechoslovakia, were winding down their Shabbos preparations. The food was cooked, the children bathed, and it was now time for the men to begin heading out to the great synagogue for the special Friday night prayers. As the great Rav of Pressburg, R’ Moshe Sofer ZT”L (Chasam Sofer), put on his rabbinic coat and stepped through the doorway of his home, he instinctively placed his right hand on the mezuzah to kiss it, as he was careful to do whenever he walked through a door.
This time, however, as he placed his hand on the mezuzah, he paused for what seemed like quite a while and appeared to be deep in thought. His attendant and family members watched him curiously, and just as they were about to ask him why he had paused by the mezuzah, the Chasam Sofer spun around and hurried back into his inner study chamber, where he kept his wallet and valuables. The onlookers continued to watch as he opened his pouch and removed some coins.
“Here. Take this money,” the Chasam Sofer said to his attendant, holding out exactly eleven gold thaler coins. “Run quickly and deliver these coins. Do not tell the recipient who sent these coins—and then come right back!”
The Chasam Sofer then told him the name and address of the person to whom the coins should be delivered. The attendant did not hesitate or question his master’s command and sprinted off to fulfill his duty. Within minutes, he arrived at the address and found the young man to whom the Chasam Sofer had referred standing in the street amidst a heap of clothing and furniture. Without another thought, the attendant handed him the money, wished him a good Shabbos, and ran off in the direction from which he came. He met the Chasam Sofer along the way, and together they walked to shul.
Minutes after Shabbos ended the following evening, the young man sought out the attendant who had brought him the money the day before. “Please tell me,” he begged, “who sent you with this money yesterday afternoon?”
Of course, the attendant refused to divulge the identity of his secret benefactor and told him that he was not authorized to tell. “Well, I must know,” said the man excitedly, “for if it wasn’t an angel sent from Heaven who directed you to me, then you surely possess Ruach HaKodesh (Divine Spirit) to have known what absolutely no one could have known!”
The attendant’s curiosity was piqued, and the young man explained. “I am a student in the yeshivah here in Pressburg, and like many other students, I rent a room in town. Unfortunately, I do not always have the means to pay my rent, and for quite a few months now, I have been stalling my landlord with excuses. When I do come into a bit of money, I pay her what I can, but it is not nearly enough to cover my debt. As of yesterday afternoon, I was in arrears in the amount of eleven gold thalers, and my poor landlord was at her wit’s end. The fact of the matter is, she is almost as poor as I am, and when she came to my room in the afternoon demanding that I pay her what I owe, she was frantic. She did not even have enough money to buy candles for Shabbos, and she blamed it all on me. I tried to come up with some excuse, but she wasn’t having any of it. ‘Get out,’ she finally told me, ‘and take your stuff with you!’”
The young man’s eyes were shining with the recollection. “I begged her to let me stay just a few more days, saying that I was expecting money from a relative. Instead of allowing me to stay, she grabbed my few belongings and threw them out the door. ‘I could have rented this room to someone who would pay me what he is supposed to,’ she screamed. ‘Now, all because of you, I don’t even have a few pennies to buy candles for the holy Shabbos!’ With that, she broke down in tears, but not before throwing me out and slamming the door, leaving me and my possessions stranded out in the street.”
“What can I tell you?” said the young man, smiling. “At that exact moment, you showed up and handed me eleven thalers! It was like money falling from Heaven! You should have seen the look of pure joy on my landlord’s face when I gave her the money!” His smile faded, and he looked suddenly anxious. “But now, my dear man, I must know. Who was the angel who sent you at that exact moment?” The attendant smiled inwardly. His Rebbe may not be an actual angel, but he clearly possessed Ruach HaKodesh!
Rabbi Dovid Hoffman is the author of the popular “Torah Tavlin” book series, filled with stories, wit and hundreds of divrei Torah, including the brand new “Torah Tavlin Yamim Noraim” in stores everywhere. You’ll love this popular series. Also look for his book, “Heroes of Spirit,” containing one hundred fascinating stories on the Holocaust. They are fantastic gifts, available in all Judaica bookstores and online at http://israelbookshoppublications.com. To receive Rabbi Hoffman’s weekly “Torah Tavlin” sheet on the parsha, e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
