There had been more than one fire in Lubavitch. The wooden houses were not immune to fire and the methods to put out fires were not what we have today. When a fire broke out, it was a danger to the entire town.
One time, the Tzemach Tzedek’s court was completely burned and they had to build a new building.
When the cornerstone for the new house was laid, they set up a table and chair for the Rebbe and many Chassidim gathered for the occasion.
“What do you want to hear?” asked the Rebbe. “A maamar or a story?”
The Chassidim thought a bit and then said, “We hear a maamar often but rarely hear stories, so we choose a story.” They knew the power of a Chassidic tale; all the more so, a story told by the Rebbe himself.
The Rebbe began:
There was a Jew by the name of Yaakov Ish Tam. From his name, you can understand that this man was a sincere, G-d fearing person. He was a Chassid of Rabbi Yisrael of Ruzhin.
R’ Yaakov would lease inns and fields from the governor. What did he do with all these inns and fields? He rented them out. Each inn was rented to someone else.
At the end of each year, the renters had to go to R’ Yaakov’s house and pay the rent. R’ Yaakov himself would then pay the rent to the governor which was a lesser amount. The difference between what he got and what he gave the governor was his profit and this is how he made a living.
The year was over and one of R’ Yaakov’s tenants, whom we will call Yosef, was unable to pay the rent. It was a hard year and not enough people visited the inn. Yosef did not go to pay Yaakov.
What did R’ Yaakov do? He sent him a letter. “If you don’t pay what you owe, I will be forced to take the inn from you.”
Yosef read the letter in tears and was very frightened. If he didn’t have an inn, how would he support his family? Yosef was also a Chassid of Rabbi Yisrael of Ruzhin. He went to his Rebbe and told him what happened.
“Please Rebbe,” said Yosef tearfully, “speak to R’ Yaakov and have him wait patiently another year. With Hashem’s help, next year Hashem will provide and I will pay for two years.”
The Rebbe nodded. He conveyed this request to R’ Yaakov to wait another year. R’ Yaakov, as a loyal Chassid, listened to the Rebbe.
A year went by and unfortunately, Yosef’s situation had not improved. He did not even have money for one year, certainly not for two.
R’ Yaakov, who had waited patiently for two years, said to poor Yosef, “Please look for another place.”
Yosef was terrified. What would become of his family? Must they starve? He went back to the Ruzhiner Rebbe and asked for his help. “Please ask R’ Yaakov to wait another year,” he pleaded.
Once again, the Rebbe asked R’ Yaakov to be compassionate and wait another year. R’ Yaakov, as a loyal Chassid, obeyed the Rebbe once again.
A third year went by and the situation remained the same. There was no money to pay for three years’ rent.
Yosef already knew what to do, go to the Rebbe. This time too, he asked for another year’s grace and the following year he would pay for four years’ rent.
R’ Yaakov Ish Tam felt he couldn’t go on like this. He did not withstand the test and sent Yosef away from the inn. Yosef begged for R’ Yaakov to wait another year but R’ Yaakov, who had waited patiently for three years, refused to wait any longer.
Not long afterward, R’ Yaakov passed away. His soul went up to the heavenly court. The judges reviewed his life.
“R’ Yaakov is G-d-fearing and was particular about mitzva observance and refrained from sinning,” they said.
“However, there is one big problem. R’ Yaakov did not listen to the Admor of Ruzhin. The Ruzhiner told him not to send poor Yosef away from the inn and R’ Yaakov did not listen. Yosef remained without parnassa and therefore, R’ Yaakov deserves to be punished.”
Suddenly, someone appeared who spoke in R’ Yaakov’s defense. “Why are you sentencing him to Gehinnom? He listened to the Rebbe twice! For two entire years, he agreed to wait for payment. It was only the third time that he felt he could not wait any longer.”
He said to the heavenly judges, “You are already up here for a long time and have forgotten what the world is like and how valuable money is to people. Without money you cannot buy food, it’s hard to live. You don’t understand what a difficult test it was for R’ Yaakov. You need to bring this case before someone who is still in Olam Hazeh for him to decide what should be done.”
At this point, the Tzemach Tzedek paused and said to his Chassidim, “I think R’ Yaakov Ish Tam is innocent. What do you think?”
The Chassidim immediately realized that the Tzemach Tzedek was chosen to judge this case and to help R’ Yaakov and they answered, “Innocent, innocent!” ■