EVEN THE WAGON DRIVER KNEW

The Chassid R Yehuda (Yudel) Chein was known to be extraordinarily hospitable. Although he lived in Nevel, a town full of Chassidim and men great in Torah, Chassidus and Ahavas Yisroel, R’ Yudel surpassed them all.

Although R’ Yudel’s home excelled in the midda of Chassidus too, as was fitting for a son, grandson, and great-grandson of the illustrious Chein family, still, the outstanding trait that characterized the family was hospitality. This trait entailed sometimes hosting unfortunate people, those down on their luck, often covered with lice and boils, or those who were being pursued by the NKVD. There were always guests who filled the house. It is important to note that at that time, someone who hosted a person in his home who did not have a permit from the police for being there, even if he had done nothing criminal, was sentenced to five years in jail.

One day, R’ Yudel found out that the government had drafted two Jewish young men. After giving a large bribe, he called upon his many connections and was able to have them released from the army. As soon as they were freed, they headed for the Chein house. R’ Yudel welcomed them, fed them, and then told them to go back to their learning. One of the bachurim was Dovid Solomon. R’ Yudel said to him, “Dovid, now you have a room and whatever you need. Just sit and learn.”

The two bachurim lived with the family for three years, learning and davening, and they received room and board at the family’s expense.

During World War II, the Chein family packed their few belongings and fled to distant Asia, to Kokand near Tashkent, where they lived in temporary quarters due to fear of the Nazi onslaught. One day, the family received a telegram announcing the release of Yehoshua Katzenelenbogen from a prison camp after being there for a number of years. They found out that he had arrived in Kokand and was wandering in the streets because he had no place to stay due to the danger.

R’ Yudel immediately left his house and began walking around in the hopes that he would find Yehoshua who was a precious Tamim whom the NKVD had treated cruelly. He finally found him on a bench in a public park with torn, worn-out clothes crawling with lice.

R’ Yudel took him home and began caring for him. His condition was so bad that they had to scrub him for three days until his body stopped swarming with lice.

***

This outstanding trait of hospitality was something he inherited from his father, the Chassid, R’ Meir Simcha Chein, also from Nevel.

The following story took place in 5691/1931, a year before R’ Meir Simcha passed away:

At that time, there lived a Jew in Nevel who knew that the NKVD was after him. He knew that it was a matter of time before they would lay their hands on him and take him away. He managed to escape by the skin of his teeth and the only place he could get to at that hour was the home of R’ Meir Simcha. He wanted to hide in his house until the coast was clear.

R’ Meir Simcha was moser nefesh for the sake of others and despite the enormous danger in hosting and hiding this man, he hid him in the attic.

The NKVD realized the man had escaped and they figured out that one of the people who could be hiding him was R’ Meir Simcha. A number of agents went to his house and began questioning him about whether he met that Chassid. R’ Meir Simcha, of course, said no, and the evil ones went on their way, sure that their prey would yet fall into their hands. R’ Meir Simcha was still nervous about the Chassid he had hidden. He knew that the agents could return with reinforcements and turn his house over until they found the “escaped criminal.” He decided to leave Nevel (now in Ukraine) and go and hide in the home of his son, R’ Yudel, who lived at the time with his family in Staraya-Russa, in Russia proper, until the danger would pass.

Before he left, R’ Meir Simcha sent a telegram to his son letting him know he was coming and asking him to meet him at the train station. R’ Meir Simcha knew that unlike many cities, where the train station was near the city, in Staraya-Russa the station was located on the outskirts of the city.

For various reasons, the telegram did not arrive. When R’ Meir Simcha arrived after a long trip, nobody was there to greet him. He was sure his son would come and he paced the train station calling out, “Yudel, Yudel” now and then. But nobody responded.

In the meantime, one of the wagon drivers went over to him. There were many wagon drivers who hung around the station hoping to take people to their destination. The man whispered to him while winking, “Old man, come with me, I know where you need to go.”

R’ Meir Simcha shrugged. How did the wagon driver know where he needed to go? But the man had spoken to him in a way that earned his trust and he got into the wagon. A while later the wagon driver deposited him at his son’s house.

It was evening and the children had sat down to eat. Mrs. Chein was not at home and R’ Yudel was busy with work, a small candy making business that he had not far away, work that needed to be done secretly because he refused to work at an “official” job that entailed Shabbos desecration.

The door suddenly opened and there was R’ Meir Simcha. The one who identified him first was his grandson, Dovid’ke (later of Kfar Chabad). Until that day, he had only seen his grandfather twice – at his upsheren and at the wedding of his young aunt which took place in Nevel.

“Where is your father?” asked R’ Meir Simcha.

“At work,” said the boy who was immediately dispatched to call his father home. Dovid was thrilled and he ran to his father’s workplace. He shouted excitedly, “Grandfather came!”

R’ Yudel was most surprised by this announcement. He had not expected such an honored guest on a wintry, snowy day like this. His father had come! He looked at his son for a long moment and then sprang up, grabbed his coat and ran outside in the freezing weather while still holding his coat.

R’ Yudel swiftly arrived home where he welcomed his father royally and with great joy. His father though, looked grave.

“You didn’t have time to meet me at the train station? And instead of coming you sent a goy?” he asked in an annoyed tone.

The astonished R’ Yudel stammered and then said he had no idea his father was coming.

“But I sent you a telegram!”

R’ Yudel assured him that he had not received a telegram.

“Then how did the goy at the train station know where to bring me?”

R’ Yudel now understood everything. He said, “Father, the wagon drivers of Staraya-Russa know that when a new Jew comes to town, they need to bring him to my house. They do that in exchange for money that I pay them. So when that wagon driver saw a Jew alone at the station, he brought you straight to me.”

R’ Meir Simcha was astounded. He was aware that his son was known as an outstanding host, but to this extent he had not imagined. This incident left a powerful impression on him.