Faith in the Tzaddikim – The Spice of Life
A seasoned businessman once acquired hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of merchandise from a number of distributors. The products were first grade quality, but the businessman was unaware of the fact that they were all stolen goods. Suddenly, one bright day, without prior warning, his house was ransacked by the police, searching for the stolen goods.
The Jewish businessman was filled with anguish. He understood that he did not only stand to lose the merchandise, which would translate into a major financial loss, but he would also be sentenced in court, and most likely ordered to pay a hefty fine for purchasing and retaining stolen goods. This was apart from paying taxes, court costs, etc. The man’s brother felt compelled to do something to extricate him from the mess he found himself in. He related the story to me and asked what there was to do.
“The next time the police come to search your brother’s house,” I began, “spread salt over the entrance to his home. The letters of the word מלח (salt) can be transposed to spell לחם (bread), which is an allusion to the Torah. Then call out, ‘In the merit of Rabbi Chaim Pinto, may everyone flee from here.’ In this manner, B’ezrat Hashem, your brother will experience deliverance.”
The man told his brother to do as I said. But his brother wouldn’t accept his words. “Did you lose your mind completely?!” he thundered. “The police are on their way over as we speak. Do you want me to give them more reason to imprison me, on account of contempt of court?!”
But his brother, whose sole purpose was to help him out, was a man of firm belief in the merit of the tzaddikim, especially that of my grandfather, Rabbi Chaim Pinto, zy”a. He paid no heed to his brother’s words of mockery and decided to take matters into his own hands. He did as I had instructed. As soon as the police officers arrived at his brother’s home, he spread salt over the floor, and shouted, “In the merit of Rabbi Chaim Pinto, everyone flee!”
The stunned policemen stared at him in wonder. Then they looked at one another, at a loss as to what to do next. Finally, the head officer told his men, “Okay, we didn’t find anything. Let’s go.” His parting words to the businessman were, “Next time, be careful not to deal with stolen goods!”
There is no doubt that the man was granted this miracle in the merit of the tzaddik, Rabbi Chaim Pinto, zy”a. It made waves among other Jewish merchants, causing a kiddush Hashem.
