Tes Kislev

The “Great Purim” took place in Ro­go­chov, and my zeide told this story:

Reb Yos­sele der chaz­zan , a chos­sid whom the Al­ter Rebbe once blessed to be­come wealthy, lived in Ko­rma, and on that “Great Purim” he came to Ro­go­chov. (Ko­rma is close to Ro­go­chov.) The Mit­teler Rebbe hon­ored Reb Yos­sele with read­ing the Megillah, and, right in the mid­dle — when he read [Haman’s proud state­ment] Whom would the king wish to honor more than me?⁶ — he spat, “Feh, ke­li­pah!”

The next morn­ing ev­ery­one as­sumed that, know­ing how the Mit­teler Rebbe de­tested any out­ward show, some­one else would read the Megillah. How­ever, the Mit­teler Rebbe called him again, and when he came to the ta­ble the Mit­teler Rebbe told him, “You do not know that one must first put Megillah gelt on the ta­ble”⁷ — and the Rebbe laid down a golden ren­del coin, and each of the more than a thou­sand gvirim there fol­lowed suit, lay­ing down a golden ren­del.

The Al­ter Rebbe’s bless­ing was ful­filled and he be­came a gvir.

6. Esther 6:6. ↩
7. There was a custom to put money on the table for the person who read the Megillah. ↩