Reb Zusha had gone to visit his rebbe, the holy tzadik Reb Dov Ber, the Maggid of Mezritch. Before departing for home Reb Zusha mentioned to The Maggid that he needed to marry off his daughter. His rebbe immediately gave him a sum of three hundred rubles.
Reb Zusha was greatly relieved. For now his wife and daughter would be at ease.
On his trip home Reb Zusha passed through a Jewish village where he heard the sound of bitter weeping coming from a poor widow. The poor woman was about to marry off her daughter and on the way to the chupa lost her entire dowry, three hundred rubles! The wedding was now called off because the groom and his family refused to go on without the dowry.
Reb Zusha walked up to her and said, "I think I have found your money!. Can you tell me wht it looked like?"
"Why yes," she replied. "The money was in a packet of two fifties, and ten twenties, and was tied with a red string."
"Yes, that's exactly what I found!" replied Reb Zusha. "I will go to my inn and bring your money back."
Reb Zusha ran to the inn and changed his money for the denominations the widow had described and tied it with a red string. Meanwhile with great excitement the preparations for the wedding continued. As Reb Zusha presented the widow with the money, he said, "I am keeping one twenty ruble note as my reward"
"What!" screamed the widow. "How can you rob a poor widow of twenty rubles!
"This money is mine as a reward for my troubles!" said Reb Zusha.
After much yelling and screaming from everyone around, the case was brought to the local Rabbi. The Rabbi ruled: "Reb Zusha must give the widow back the twenty rubles."
But still, Reb Zusha refused to give up the money. One young man then quickly extracted the bill from Reb Zusha's pocket and they threw him out of the village.
Months later the village rabbi happened to encounter The Maggid of Mezritch and related to him this incident with his disciple, Reb Zusha.
The Maggid turned to the rabbi, "You must go to Reb Zusha and beg forgiveness. That money did not belong to the widow. I myself gave it to Reb Zusha to marry off his own child! He demanded twenty rubles because he wanted to avoid honor at any cost. He wanted this great mitzva to be completely pure."
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