Amazing Story About Rabbi Meshulam Zusha Of Anipoli

1:17But to just show you what kind of sages we have in our nation, what kind of sages we're related to, you can call these people your grandfather. You can call these people your distant uncle. This is where we're from. We're even from something even bigger. We're from Avraham Avinu, who spoke to Hashem. I mean, it doesn't get better than that. Rabbi Zusha comes to his Rebbe one day and says, "The Magid of Mezritch, Kvoda Rav, I cannot afford to marry off my daughters." The Magid of Mezritch says to him, "You have to marry off all of them now?" He goes, "No, no, just one. Just one I have to marry off now." So, how much is it going to cost you?" He says, "300 rubles." So, the Magid of Mezritch, his Rebbe, says, "Here," He takes out of the safe 300 rubles. He says, "Yeah, I'm going to lend you this money now. Go collect some money. Why don't you collect? If you don't have one way or the other, you know you have it. You have it to go marry off, but go collect whatever else you need to collect to get the 300 rubles otherwise." Because it's not like he was rich himself, but he took care of his talmid.

2:36So, Rabbi Zusha started to go. Now, he didn't give him money for traveling; he gave him money to marry off his daughter. So, he couldn't use the money for trains and things of that nature. He started walking to different cities and different towns. Eventually, he gets to another city to go collecting, to try to get some tzedakah. And when he gets there, he sees that in the city, in the market, there is a huge commotion. Huge commotion over there going on. He comes closer. What happened? He sees there's a woman on the floor, passed out. What happened to this woman? They say, no, you understand, her husband died. And she was, you know, her daughter is an orphan from her father. She didn't have anything. And she has worked her whole life just to get 300 rubles so she could marry off her daughter.

3:36And she found a chatan, and they have an agreement that she's going to give 300 rubles to help them. The agreement is that they're going to get married. Okay, so what happened? On the way to the wedding, she lost the money. Now the wedding's off. She passed out. As soon as she found out, she passed out. And every time we try to wake her up, she realizes again, she lost the money for her daughter. Her daughter can't get married. Not only is she an orphan, she also can't get married. She passed out again. We don't know what to do. So Reb Zusha gets close to her. Excuse me. Excuse me. Excuse me. She opens her eyes. She's about to pass out. Oh, don't pass out. I found the money. I found the money. Why? In his mind, he said, wait a minute. She said, I lost 300 rubles. What does that mean? To us it means, thank God, I have 300 rubles, right? To the gashmi (materialistic person) it means, oh, I'm lucky and he's not. To the tzadik (righteous person), it means, I have 300 rubles and she needs it, so therefore it's an opportunity for me to give them. That's what tzadikim (righteous people) think. That's what tzadikim think. I have what they need. Yeah, but what about your need? Ah, what I need, what I need.

4:54Who cares about what I need? He needs. It's my brother, it's my sister, they need. That's what tzaddikim think. So he says to her, I have the money. She said, you have the money? She woke up, really? Where is it? He goes, well, listen, we have a law, we have a Torah, so please tell me some simanim. I found the money, I found 300 rubles, but give me some signs that I know it's your money. What kind of bills was it? how many bills, how many tens, how many twenties, how many thirties, and so on. She gives him an exact description. He says, okay, I'll go check and I'll get it to you. He goes, gets change at the bank to be exactly what she described. So she doesn't think he's giving her the money, but rather he really found her money. He comes back, he gives her the money. Everybody's giving him blessings. Wow. Wow. Wow. Wow. The lady says, hold on a second. There's a hundred missing. There's only 200 here. I lost 300 rubles. So Reb Zusha says, yeah, that's my fee, my commission, finder's fee.

6:12Everybody says, what? A finder's fee? You're going to take a finder's fee from an orphan? You're going to take a finder's fee from a poor lady? She just passed out, almost died because of this. You're going to take a finder's fee? He says, listen, I got a finder's fee. They start cursing him and yelling at him. No one realizes it's his money. They start yelling and insulting him. He says, listen, we're going to take you to Beit Din. He says, take me to Beit Din. They go to Beit Din. Rabbi says, no, what's the problem? Rabbi Zusha says, listen, she lost 300 rubles. I found it and gave her 200 back, but I took 100 for myself. What? It's not a fine industry. The Rabbi says, listen, there's no such thing as a fine industry. Where's your love for another Jew? You're obligated to love another Jew as you love yourself. Rabbi Zusha says, oh, okay, there's no fine for you, okay, I'll give the money back. He gives the money back and they throw him out. They throw him out of there. He wanted to take a hundred rubles for himself from a poor orphan. Now, the rabbi who was at the Beit Din knew that Rabbi Zusha's rabbi was the Magid of Mezritch, the Gadol Hador.

7:30So he says, "I have to tell the Magid, I’ve got to tell him that his student is a faker, because I know that the Magid of Mezritch likes his student, this Rabbi Zusha. He speaks very highly of him, but he’s a rasha; he wants to take a hundred rubles from some poor orphan. So he goes and speaks to the Magid of Mezritch. He tells him everything that happens, like, 'Listen, I know he’s your student, I know you love him and everything, but I’ve got to tell you, he’s a faker.'" Because why is he a faker? He tells him the whole story, he wants to take 100 rubles from a poor lady, an orphan. So the Magid M'Mezritch smiles at the other rabbi and he says, "My Zusha, My Zusha, I know my Zusha. I know my Zusha, my Zusha did not take the 300 rubles. Those 300 rubles are my money. I gave them to him. So I know my Zusha didn't do that, what you're saying. I just don't understand why he did what he did, though. That I have to ask him. So let's bring him in. So, they bring in Reb Zusha, and the Maggid of Mezritch says,

8:40I know that you gave this poor woman the 300 rubles that I gave you to wed off your daughter. Instead of wedding off your daughter, you cared about another Jewish woman and gave your money, leaving yourself with nothing because I know you're a tzaddik. I know that's what you did. He goes, "Yeah, Rabbi, that's what I did. I just don't understand one thing in the story. If you're already giving out the money..." Why the whole story with the commission, with the finder's fee? So, Rabbi Zusha—story worth a million dollars. Rabbi Zusha says to him this: he says, you have to understand, when I saw this poor woman losing her mind, she was passed out, she was... I understood at that moment that I had to give her the money. I have the money; she needs it, no problem. The second I decided this, the yetzer hara himself showed up and started singing my name. Zusha, Zusha. He starts singing my name. Zusha is the biggest tzaddik. Zusha is even bigger than his Rebbe. Zusha is the spark of Mashiach ben David. Zusha is this, Zusha is that. And everywhere I'd go, he wouldn't leave me alone. I went to go get the change.

10:06I thought he was going to leave by then. He started singing even more and brought some friends. I started singing my name. I said to him, "You know what? After I finish with you today, you're never going to come back again." So I knew I had to do something. I had to do something to get this yetzer hara out of my head, making me think I'm a tzaddik, making me think I'm a gadol, making me think I'm anything. I had to get this yetzer hara out. So what did I do? I told him, listen, I want to find this tree. And after all the embarrassment and the insults that I got, the yetzer hara not only ran away, he hasn't been back since. That's how tzaddikim are made. Certainly, please provide the text you'd like me to correct.

11:38Today, we are focusing on the teachings of the Chofetz Chaim. It’s important to note the legacy that the Chofetz Chaim has left us, particularly how his sefer, the Mishna Berura, continues to influence Halachic decisions today. Additionally, we should remember the impact of Rav Moshe Feinstein, who was known for his remarkable ability to pasken shailos with precision and clarity. In this shiur, as well as in general study, it’s crucial to understand these gedolim’s contributions and to apply their insights to our daily lives. Thank you.