Avraham Eidelman grew up and lived his entire life in the city of Brisk. He earned a special connection with the Rav of Brisk, Rav Yosef Dov Soloveitchik zt”l (the Beis HaLevi), and years later, the Rav’s family related that there were only two baalebatim whom the Rav trusted implicitly, one of them being Avraham Eidelman. The two families grew very close.
One Friday morning, a number of years before World War I, the Eidelmans heard a thumping on their front door. There were two scowling government officials staring back at them. “We are here to imprison the homeowner, Avraham Eidelman.”
“Imprison him? For what?” the family asked. The officials snickered. “The front lawn on this property is neglected.” (The city of Brisk, along with some surrounding cities, enacted a regulation whereby the cleanliness of the city’s streets was the responsibility of the homeowners. This meant that the regular townspeople had to shovel the snow, rid the garbage, etc. of the street bordering their property. The government appointed officers to enforce the law and make sure that everybody obeyed.)
The Eidelman children were frantic. Mrs. Eidelman began pleading, “We’ve hired help to maintain the orderliness of our property, but the man got drunk, leaving our home and the lawn in total disarray.” (The Eidelman family was fortunate enough to afford such lawn maintenance to maintain their property.) But unsurprisingly, her words fell on deaf ears. Avraham’s wife offered to fill her prestigious husband’s shoes by taking his place, but the officers wouldn’t hear of it.
Thus, Avraham Eidelman was arrested and taken to prison. Before departing, his wife filled a bag with Shabbos food and delicacies to make the best of her husband’s ordeal. But that bag of goodies only brought on additional problems. As soon as the inmates saw the bag of food he was carrying, they charged at him to “relieve” him of his stash, as many of them hadn’t eaten such foods in years. Losing his bag would be disheartening to Avraham, for besides losing his Shabbos meals, he would have no other kosher food for the duration of his stay. The prison wasn’t serving custom-made food for their convicts.
Thankfully, with the help of Hashem, his disappointment was short-lived. From the other end of the prison, the inmates heard a thunderous voice call out: “No one dare start up with this man! Woe to the one who takes even a morsel of food from him, for I will take revenge!” That was all they had to hear. Everyone stopped what they were doing and backed off.
A dark and menacing-looking criminal approached Avraham and welcomed him with a big Shalom Aleichem. “Do you remember me?” he asked, to a surprised and relieved Avraham Eidelman. “No, I don’t,” he replied. “Who are you?”
The dark inmate recalled how, many years ago, there had been a scruffy, unkempt fellow collecting tz’dakah in the big shul in Brisk. Many of the congregants tried sending him away, but the beggar refused. He was planning on staying there until he’d get his necessary funds, however long it would take, and only then would he agree to leave. The congregants figured that the way they’d get him to leave was by not inviting him to any Shabbos seudah. So as the shul was emptying on Friday night, no one invited this pauper, and he watched as the entire shul cleared out, nobody caring to acknowledge him – except one person, Avraham Eidelman, who kindheartedly showed the collector proper respect and dignity by inviting him to his seudah.
“You know who that beggar was?” the convict asked Avraham. “That was me! You were the only one who showed me respect at that most humiliating period of my life. You made me feel like a human being. And now, even though I am incarcerated here for who knows how long, due to the fact that I could not support my family and resorted to stealing horses, I am here for you to ensure that you get repaid for your good deed at your most humiliating time.” This inmate reassured Avraham that throughout his “visit” (which didn’t last long), he would guard and protect him – which he faithfully did.
(Adapted with permission from the Zichru Toras Moshe – Shabbos Table Stories. To subscribe, email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)
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.
