Rav Yitzchok Horowitz of Hamburg zt"l
הרב יצחק בן יעקב יוקל הורוביץ זצ"ל
Iyar 6 , 5527
Stories of Rav Yitzchok Horowitz of Hamburg zt"l
Although Rav Itzikel was a Misnagged, the Ba’al Shem Tov held Rav Itzikel in great esteem for his emes, and would even send Chassidim to Brodie to visit Rav Itzikel and speak against Chassidus to give him nachas ruach (satisfaction)! The Ba’al Shem Tov testified that Rav Itzikel had Ruach HaKodesh, which rested upon him from Rosh Chodesh Elul until the great fair at Krasna when he was disturbed by the litigations and Dinei Torah he had to arbitrate between merchants and customers from the business at the trade fair. Others say the Ba’al Shem said that not only was Rav Itzikel the Godol HaDor, he was holy, calling him a kodosh, and said that from Elul until Cheshvan he was simply out of this world! (Kuntres Zichron Yitzchok, printed in Ohel Naftoli # 212)
On his way to the great fair in Leipzig was a Jew from Lithuania. He had in his possession a monetary loan to conduct business and buy and sell at the fair.
It was Erev Shabbos and he stopped at a Jewish inn, whose proprietor was well known for his piety and hospitality. As it was Erev Shabbos and the Shabbos approached, our traveler handed over his money to the innkeeper, known for his Yiras Shomayim, to guard until after Shabbos. Unfortunately, that Shabbos, the innkeeper was attacked by a debilitating illness. All Shabbos he lay in bed burning with fever and sadly on Motzoei Shabbos, he passed away!
A day or so after the funeral, our traveler approached the almona and yesomim, expressed his sorrow and regret at their loss and asked them to return his money that he had given her husband and their father for safekeeping. The widow and the orphans, however, answered, bewildered, that they knew nothing of any money. The parties approached the Rav, Rav Itzikel of Hamburg, to render a pesak halocha on the matter and judge the case. “If the almona and yesomim swear that they know nothing, then they are clear,” and they were willing to swear on the spot.
“No, that is unnecessary,” said the traveler. “Obviously they must be telling the truth. I don’t want them to swear in Hashem’s name needlessly,” and so the matter seemed to end.
However, our traveler was now in a serious quandary. What should he do? He couldn’t travel on to the fair, for he had no money with which to conduct any business and how could he turn around and head home – wouldn’t they assume he had stolen the money? He turned bitterly to Rav Itzikel day after day and asked for his advice and help in recovering the money, but strangely Rav Itzikel’s answer did not seem serious: “I told you already several times,” Rav Itzikel insisted. “If you really want to know where your lost money is, I can summon the niftar before us and he will testify where he put it!”
Having heard this answer already more than once, our traveler lost his patience and spat out, “Fine, if that’s what the Rav says (he thought the Rav must be speaking sarcastically), summon the niftar already!”
Rav Itzikel, however, grew solemn and serious. He turned to the shammas and said, “Take my staff, go to the Bais HaChaim, to the newly dug grave of the innkeeper, and summon him in my name to a Din Torah!”
The shammas obeyed the Rav and soon returned from the Bais HaChaim.
“The niftar is present. If you wish, please repeat your story in front of him and he will answer.”
Our traveler stood there bewildered, seeing no one, but if the Rav said…and he launched into his tale about how he had arrived Erev Shabbos “and I gave the money to the innkeeper for safekeeping and he got sick and died and no one knows where the money is now,” he concluded, feeling a bit silly. Rav Itzikel paused as if listening. The traveler saw and heard nothing.
Then Rav Itzikel said, “The niftar says that if we examine the volume of Tur Orach Chaim Hilchos Shabbos in this and that siman we will find the money there, because this is the volume he was studying at the time you gave him the money for safekeeping and this is where he hurriedly placed it.”
So saying, the Rav urged our traveler to do so, and when the almona opened the sefer, there was his money, just as Rav Itzikel had told him! (Kuntres Zichron Yitzchok, printed in Ohel Naftoli # 216 as told by Rav Avrohom Segal Ettinger heard from Avrohom Binyomin Kluger, who heard it from Rav Shlomo Kluger when he lived in Brodie, from elders who still remembered Rav Itzikel of Hamburg)