|
Once upon a time...
Once during a heavy snowstorm,
the wife of the Mezeritcher Maggid figured that her husband would not even attempt to return
home that night from the neighboring village. She therefore did not prepare herself
to go to the Mikvah.
Suddenly, her husband came home and she sadly
told him that she wasn't ready. Seeing the great effort he had made to be
with her, she prepared and ran off to the Mikvah. It was already quite
late and as she feared, the Mikvah attendant was closing up for the night and
refused to let her in. The woman cried and begged, but being a poor wife
of a melamed, she was not accorded any special favors.
Suddenly, as if out of nowhere, four beautiful
carriages pulled up to the Mikvah. Out stepped four regal-looking women. Certainly,
they must be the wives of some great Rabbeim - they looked so royal. The Mikvah attendant
could not refuse them and so the wife of the Mezeritcher Maggid went in as well.
Nine months later, at the bris of their son,
who would become known as Reb Avraham HaMalach, the Maggid turned to his wife
and said, "Please, dear wife, the next time you have to use the Mikvah, you
should make every effort to be there on time so as not to cause Sarah, Rivkah,
Leah and Rachel Imeinu to leave their palaces in Gan Eden in order to open the
Mikvah for you."
|
