A Holy Woman’s Prayer for a Wagon Driver
Chava was a very holy woman and her husband was a well respected teacher in the village. One day, when passed the old wooden shul (synagogue) she saw members of the Chevra Kaddisha (Burial Society) rushing about. Chava was approached by a woman passerby and was asked, “Haven’t you heard, Reb Yankl Balagoleh (the Wagon Driver) passed away?”
Chava was shocked and said “Baruch Dayan haEmes – Blessed is the True Judge – My dear friend, the holy Reb Yankl, is gone!” and she broke out in tears. People around her were surprised: Why was she so emotional? Was Reb Yankl related to her? Or was she close to him because she had spoken to him on occasion?
“Listen, my friends,” Chava responded, when they asked her about it, “and I’ll tell you why I’m so saddened by the death of that dear holy man Reb Yankl.”
People gathered closer to her to hear what she would say. “One day,” Chava began, “I ran out of firewood. I didn’t even have any wood chips to start a fire. My house was freezing cold. So I went to Reb Yankl Balagoleh and asked if he could please bring me a little wood? Without delaying for a minute, he immediately hitched his horse to the wagon, drove off to the forest, and before long brought back a wagonful of wood. I used the wood to warm my house and also the beis medresh (Torah study hall). In his merit, people sat and studied Torah and other holy books in a warm and pleasant place.”
“I remember another time when I had no water in my house on erev Shabbos. I couldn’t cook for Shabbos without water. To whom did I go? To Reb Yankl. When I asked him to please get me some water, he didn’t wait or delay for a moment; he immediately hitched his horse to his wagon and quickly brought a barrelful of water to my house!”/h3>
After telling this to the people around her, the holy holy woman lifted her eyes to heaven and said:
“Ribbono Shel Olam, Master of the world, may it be Your will that every little chip of that wagonful of wood be a defending angel for Reb Yankl in heaven. And may every drop from that barrelful of water be a great merit for him, to plead for him and support him in the Upper World!”
Later, when Chava’ husband came to the synagogue, his students told him what wife had said about Reb Yankl. The young man said, “Now you know that my wife has ruach ha-kodesh [the holy spirit], because I tell you, when Reb Yankl died, I heard them saying in the Heavenly Court exactly what she said just now.”
A holy woman like Chava has compassionate eyes that can see the greatness of even a simple person. Reb Yankl was not a Torah scholar, but he was ready to help a needy fellow human without delay. The holy woman, who appreciated the holiness and goodness of a humble wagon driver, called him a “tsaddik (a saint).”
A pious person like Chava does not forget a favor. Judaism cultivates one’s feelings of gratitude and deepens one’s appreciation of goodness. The holy woman remembered Reb Yankl’s kind deeds and pleaded for him before the Heavenly Throne. She was on a spiritual level to be a defending angel for others before the Heavenly Court.
Her holy husband, shared that “If there should be for one of them an angel, a mediator, one of a thousand, one who declares a person upright (Job 33:23) then indeed his holy wife Chava could call to the Heavenly host through her prayer.”
May all your tales end with Shalom (peace)
Courtesy of Shalom Counseling
