Coming to Rebbe Shalom Shachna she told him of the rabbis’ judgment and he said to her:
“Go home to your husband and every Monday and Thursday eat and drink and be healthy and beautiful and I assure you that your punishment will be expiated.”
When the woman left, the amazed Chassidim asked the Rebbe what the meaning of his words were: “It is really not difficult, after all, the best repentance is that which compensates for the sin. What now was the sin of this poor woman? She had caused the death of a soul in Israel. Let her therefore go home and look beautiful and find favor in her husband’s eyes and may they have another child to take the place of the first and this will be the true repentance.”
Rebbe Shalom Shachna in turn was blessed with a son, who brought the dynasty to its peak of glory. This was the famous Rebbe Yisroel of Rizhin. Rebbe Yisroel carried himself with the bearing of a king and his courtyard rivaled that of real monarchs. Nevertheless, his learning and greatness were recognized by Chassidic rebbes who were themselves great scholars. One such man was Reb Chaim of Tzanz, one of the giants of scholarship of his time.
One day, following a journey to see Rebbe Yisroel, Rebbe Chaim encountered Rav Shimon Sofer (son of the great Chasam Sofer and the rav of Krakow). Rav Shimon was opposed to Chassidim but he greatly respected Rebbe Chaim for his learning. He therefore asked him: “I am amazed that a great scholar such as yourself, despite his poor health, leaves his family and travels to see Rebbe Yisroel of Rizhin. What do you see in this man – Torah, depth of understanding, breadth of knowledge?”
And Reb Chaim answered: “There are two mountains that have acquired greatness in Jewish history. One is Har HaMoriah where Isaac was prepared to give his life to the Almighty, and Har Sinai where G-d gave us the Torah. The question arises: Why was the Beis HaMikdash not built on Har Sinai where the Torah was given?
“We see, however, from this that the Almighty prefers a place where a Jew has stretched forth his neck and prepared to die for the sanctification of G-d’s Name even more than a place where the Torah was given. While there are many places and many men in the communities of Israel where Torah is paramount, there are few places where one can see the willingness to sacrifice to give up one’s very life for Israel. This latter quality is what I find in Rebbe Yisroel of Rizhin.”
