In 2 places at the same time

There was a long line for yechidus in the home of the Rebbe Rashab in Rostov, all hoping the secretary R' Chonye Morosoz h'yd would give them a turn. Suddenly the quiet was disturbed with the sound of loud arguments. It was an aguna whose husband had deserted her and her young children who asked to be an exception to the rule and be allowed to see the Rebbe then and there. The secretary who was used to people asking for exceptions to be made, refused.

 

The woman turned away disappointed, but then a young boy, Mordechai Aharon Friedman a'h, who was a ben bayis of the Rebbe, had rachmanus on her and suggested she write her problem on a paper and he would take care of it.

 

M.A. put the letter the woman wrote on the table where the Rebbe would eat supper. The Rebbe eventually came, saw the note, and told M.A. something.

 

The boy left and found the woman in the waiting room. He told her that the Rebbe's response was: Go to Warsaw.

 

The aguna's joy turned to concern as she wondered how she could afford the trip to Warsaw, but when the Chasidim heard that the Rebbe had told her to go to Warsaw they quickly raised the money for her and by dawn she had left.

 

The train stopped in Warsaw and the woman got out. She had no idea what she should do next. After a while she left the station and headed towards the city. She walked for one hour, then another, and then suddenly, struck by intense loneliness, she sat on a bench and cried.

 

A person approached her who was obviously Jewish who offered his help. She told him her story and finally asked him whether he had heard anything of her husband whose name was X. The man said he hadn't, but her told her about a factory nearby which employed people of many countries, suggesting that her husband might work there.

 

The woman walked towards the factory, went into the office, explained her problem to the manager and asked whether she could see the roster of workers. She searched the long list of names and did indeed come across the familiar name of her husband! She went back into the room where the workers could be found and scanned the room. Suddenly she saw him!

 

The husband was just as suprised to see his wife in Warsaw. They began to talk but the woman despaired when she realized that her husband wanted to remain in Warsaw.

 

Suddenly her husband asked, "How did you know where to find me?"

 

The woman explained that the Rebbe Rashab had sent her there and when her husband heard that, he changed his mind and agreed to return with his wife to Rostov.

 

The woman happily returned home and wanted to inform the Rebbe of the miracle and to thank him for his advice, but she encountered the same problem of the long line.

 

The Chasidim suggested she stand near where the Rebbe washed his hands before davening and tell him of the miracle. Excitedly, the woman stood at the place the Rebbe had to pass. The door opened and the Rebbe came out and when the woman saw him, she fainted.

 

When she recovered, the Chasidim asked her what happened. The woman emotionally explained that when she saw the Rebbe, she saw that it was the man who had helped her in Warsaw!

 

After the Chasidim had calmed down somewhat, they decided to figure out at what hour the woman had seen the Rebbe in Warsaw, and recall what the Rebbe had been doing in Rostov at the time.

 

It turned out that the event had occured at the time the Rebbe went to daven. They tried to reconstruct what had happened on that day, at that time. Suddenly they all jumped up. That day, the Rebbe had tarried in his room before going to daven. They had waited a long time for the Rebbe.

 

When they saw the time passing, they were very curious to know what was keeping him. The Chasidim edged their way over to the window of the Rebbe's room and helped one daring Chasid, who volunteered for the task, to climb up to the window and peek inside.

 

When the boy stuck his head through the window he recoiled immediately as though bitten by a snake, while screaming, "Oy Rebbe!"

 

When asked what he had seen, he told them that the Rebbe stood facing the window with his holy face burning like a torch.

 

He had indeed seen the Rebbe in his room in Rostov, nevertheless, the Rebbe was in Warsaw.