It was the morning before Pesach. The captain and a number of sailors were preparing to take their small boat and go to the city. The Rebbe and his attendant came to the captain and, using gestures, communicated that they needed some kind of bread. The captain told them in sign language, “There are Jews in the city. You can have bread brought for you.”

The hearts of kings and princes are in the hand of God. In His mercy, He turned the captain’s heart and confounded his thoughts. Without thinking, the captain blurted out that he would take one of them along to buy their bread.

The Rebbe’s attendant went with the crew. He was allowed to go to the city alone, with just one sailor following him to make sure he didn't escape. But even the way to the city involved great peril. It was a time of war and it was obvious that he was from a distant land. He could easily have been imprisoned as a spy with nobody to defend him. But again God protected him, and he passed through all the gates without being stopped.

He finally came to the chief rabbi and told him the whole story. They were captives aboard a warship, and they themselves did not know what the captain intended to do with them. He could not supply the details, but this he knew: They were prisoners and in great danger.

It only took a few minutes to tell the story, but it seemed like hours. The rabbi wanted to hear more and more about their adventures. It was obvious that the attendant was suffering greatly, but the rabbi kept telling him not to worry.

The attendant felt pressed because he wanted to buy matzot and wine and return to the ship before sundown. Suddenly God sent him another thought. While in Tiberias, he had heard Rabbi Zvi Harker mention that his wife came from a renowned Sephardic family. She had a brother in Rhodes who was a great sage and tzaddik. He could not remember the brother’s name, but he did recall the name of Rabbi Zvi’s wife.

He asked the rabbi if he knew a sage who had a sister in Tiberias, and the rabbi said he did. He notified this sage and told the attendant to hurry to his house. By the time the attendant arrived, the sage had already been apprised of everything the attendant had told the chief rabbi.

As soon as the attendant walked in, the sage told him, “There is nothing to be afraid of. You will tell me the whole story at the Seder.” The attendant could hardly believe his ears. He trusted in God, but never imagined that salvation would come so quickly. Never in his wildest dreams did he imagine that he would spend the Pesach Seder in a Jewish house.

The sage said, “We have already placed a warrant of seizure on the captain and the ship, and he will allow you to leave the ship. Of course, he will first have to be given whatever sum he requests. It is good to give thanks to God (Psalms 92:2), Who saved you in such a miraculous manner.

“The fact that you got to the city was a miracle in itself. I cannot imagine how the captain became so confused that he let you come here. He is a known thief and his wickedness has roots going back countless generations. He is a descendant of the Five Lords of the Philistines,⁵⁹ which is how he signs his name.

footnotes: ⁵⁹ Joshua 13:3; Judges 3:3; I Samuel 6:16.

“But now there is no time to listen to stories. Let us go to the barber and get you a haircut for the festival.” Immediately they went to the barber and the attendant had his hair cut. After he had bathed, they conversed over a cup of coffee.

In the course of the conversation, the sage said, “We heard that you are traveling with another man. Who is he?”

“Have you ever heard of the Baal Shem Tov?” the attendant asked.

“Of course," the sage replied. "We are quite familiar with the works of the renowned chassid of Polonnoye.”⁶⁰, the first book discussing the Baal Shem Tov’s teachings, was published in 1780.

footnotes: ⁶⁰ Rabbi Jacob Joseph of Polonnoye (1740-1810), one of the chief disciples of the Baal Shem Tov. His Toldos Yaakov Yosef

The attendant then told him, “The man traveling with me is a great-grandson of the Baal Shem Tov. He is also a grandson of Rabbi Nachman Horodenker. And as you shall soon see, he is also a sage in his own right.”

The sage was overjoyed. “To rescue even a simple person is a very great mitzvah," he said. "But now God has given me the opportunity to redeem a man who descends from such holy roots!”

The sage hurried with a small group of men to fetch the Rebbe. Meanwhile, two groups of Turks clashed with each other, resulting in a fight in which several people were killed in the main thoroughfare. When they saw what was happening, the sage and his companions took the Rebbe’s attendant and fled to the sage’s courtyard. They locked themselves in and were afraid to leave for several hours. By the time it was safe to leave, the sun was beginning to set and it was too close to the festival to go and get the Rebbe.

The sage then spoke up and said to the attendant, “From the time I was a child I have devoted my life to Torah, prayer and good deeds. I am sure that God will reward me for this. Besides this, I also have a portion in the World to Come along with every other Jew.⁶¹ 11:1. The present interpretation, that this is in addition to the reward for one's deeds, is a novel one. I am putting all this up as security. If, Heaven forbid, I do not exert myself to do everything in my power to free you, let me lose it all!

footnotes: ⁶¹ Sanhedrin

“My intention is not to boast, but to assure you that I am not abandoning you, Heaven forbid. There is simply no time to complete the task today.

“Now, hurry! Take all the matzah that you need for the Seder. I have shemurah matzah⁶² 40a; Orach Chaim 453:4. as well as regular matzah if you want it. Take some of my best wine and greens, and everything else you will need tonight. Take whatever you need.”

footnotes: ⁶² “Watched matzah,” which is prepared from wheat that is safeguarded from dampness from the time of its harvest; see Pesachim

The attendant returned to his ship, which was moored far from the city. As soon as he boarded the ship, he called out. When the Rebbe heard his voice, he was overjoyed and ran to greet him. The Rebbe had spent all that day waiting with yearning eyes for a sign of his companion. As long as the other was gone, he stood there, his eyes growing weary.

The Rebbe said, “Thank God, you’re still alive! I was sure that they had drowned you and would soon do the same to me. But now, thank God Who gives strength to the weary.⁶³ You have no idea how much I suffered while you were gone. I no longer had the strength to bear it and was sure that I would die!”

footnotes: ⁶³ Morning Blessings, from Isaiah 40:29.

They prayed, and then were able to have a proper Seder. It was a most happy meal, and as they ate, the attendant told the Rebbe everything that had happened.

On the first day of Pesach, the order came to bring the ship to the city and tie it up at the dock. The Rebbe and his attendant remained on the ship for the second night of Pesach.

The next day, the Rebbe’s attendant went into the city to pray in the synagogue. After the service, he was invited to the sage’s house for the festive meal. During the meal, the sage delivered an original Torah lesson. Then he repeated some thoughts from contemporary tzaddikim, including those of Europe. He invited his guest to discourse on the Torah, and the attendant repeated some of the Rebbe’s lessons. The sage enjoyed them immensely, saying, “Such words make me happy deep inside” (Bava Metzia 83b).

After the meal, the attendant returned to the ship, followed by the attendant of the sage carrying choice food for the Rebbe. But the Rebbe saw that his attendant's face looked utterly depressed. The Rebbe was sure that things had taken a turn for the worse, for who knows what had happened that day? (Yebamot 63b). He was so distressed about this that he could not eat.

What the Rebbe did not know was that the sage had pressed his attendant to drink so much wine that he had become drunk. This was why he looked so depressed. The Rebbe tried to question him, but he was in too much of a stupor to respond.

The Rebbe's attendant went to sleep for a few hours. It was only when he woke up that he realized what had happened. He laughed and told the Rebbe, “Didn’t you know that I was drunk? The sage was so happy that he kept asking me to drink. Before I knew it, I had taken too much wine.”

He told the Rebbe everything that had happened at the sage’s house. Fully reassured, the Rebbe ate his festive meal joyfully.