By Dovid Zaklikowski for COLlive and Hasidic Archives
In the middle of the night, a large fire broke out in the village of Kaliska (today in Poland). Many homes burned to the ground, among them the house of the famed chassid Reb Shmuel Munkes. Thankfully, the family awoke in time to escape the flames.
The next morning, Reb Shmuel, who was known for his sharp wit, went to assess the damage. A group of locals accompanied him, knowing that his reaction would be worth observing.
A few charred objects, barely distinguishable amid the ashes, were all that remained of the family’s worldly belongings. Reb Shmuel looked at the devastation before him and began to recite a blessing aloud, with great fervor: “Blessed are You … King of the universe…”
The observers expected him to conclude with, “Blessed is the true Judge,” the blessing reserved for painful occasions, as the sages say, “Just as you thank G-d for the good, so too you should thank G-d for the bad.” But they were wrong.
Thank G-d “for not making me a gentile!” Reb Shmuel concluded.
He looked up, and seeing the puzzled faces that surrounded him, explained, “Could you imagine if I were a gentile, and my idols were burned with my home? That would indeed be a catastrophe. But since I am a Jew, I have to thank G-d that the Supreme Creator I pray to and serve is eternal and cannot burn with my home. And G-d, a G-d who is all-encompassing and eternal, will surely not leave me with nothing.”
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