No Bank Account

R’ Herschel Ceitlin was a very chassidisher yid. When the Rebbe spoke about the importance of everyone owning their own home (and not just renting), and that those who don’t yet own a house should buy one, R’ Heshel was thrown into a quandary. The money was not the issue; rather, it was something much more technical. In order to buy a house, he would need to get a mortgage, and in order to get a mortgage, he would have to go through the various requisite steps in applying for one, that included having a chequing account in his own name.

So far so good, but Rabbi Ceitlin did not have a chequing account. Not an insurmountable difficulty yet, because anyone can open an account, except for the fact that R’ Heschel had never been in a bank before. As a matter of principle, he could not abide by the idea of entering a place that represented the pursuit of materialism and the avoda zara of money. He feared that such an atmosphere would detract from his chassidishkeit. Now he didn’t know how to carry out the Rebbe’s directives without compromising on his commitment.

(As a true chosid, he wrote the Rebbe about his doubts. I was never told what the Rebbe answered him, but the fact is that eventually he had his own home!)