And so the pious shamash paid 200 gold coins from his hard-earned savings but was forced to leave Chortkov in disgrace, as many people believed he had taken the money.
Back to Germany he returned and became a peddler, going from farmhouse to farmhouse with his goods and eking out a living.
A Confession
The years passed and one of the residents of Chortkov fell ill. When he realized that he was dying he called in the rav and said, “Rebbe, I have a confession I must make before I die. Several years ago money was stolen from your house and the shamash was accused of stealing it. It was all untrue. I did it – I stole the money.”
When Rav Tzvi Hirsch heard these words his heart was filled with pain for having accused and suspected the shamash unfairly. Turning to his family, he said:
“I must go and find him and beg for his forgiveness.”
Despite the fact that he was an old and weak man, Reb Tzvi Hirsch traveled to Frankfurt and searched out his old shamash. Finding him, he told him the whole story and begged him to forgive him. Furthermore, he said, “I give you a blessing that you and your generations will become wealthy.”
The older Rothschild believed the blessing and told his son Reb Meir Anshel of the greatness and goodness of Reb Tzvi Hirsch. And in the years to come, when Reb Meir Anshel had so much authority in Germany, he was instrumental in bringing Rav Tzvi Hirsch’s sons to Frankfurt and Nicklesburg.