On Shavuos night at the rebbe’s tish, Reb Eliezer noted R. Avigdor’s despondency and related the following:
Who is unfamiliar with the tragedy that befell the Maharam M’Rottenberg, Rabbi Meir ben Boruch, when false allegations had the holy man imprisoned by the German ruler? The Maharam himself had stipulated that no ransom money be paid for his release, for the act of pidyon shevuyim would embolden the villains to perpetrate evil against more good citizens. And so the Maharam languished in prison where he died seven long years later.
The tzaddik was to be denied a proper burial when the depraved regime refused to release his remains. Fourteen years passed before a prosperous member of the Jewish community divested himself of his fortune in order to bring the deceased to proper interment.
A second tragedy ensued when the philanthropist passed away unexpectedly a mere three days after his noteworthy act of kindness. The Jewish populace was understandably crushed, not to mention mystified, by this new adversity in their midst – until the niftar appeared in a dream of a close acquaintance to shed clarity on his abrupt departure:
The night following the Maharam’s being laid to rest with the honor befitting someone of his personage, the holy man appeared in his benefactor’s dream to let him know that because of the latter’s great chesed, he had the choice of either spending the rest of his life with grand prosperity (to endure for generations) or immediately leaving the world behind to join the Maharam in Gan Eden.
Having performed the chesed shel emes solely with genuine good will, the rich man opted to share the Maharam’s lofty space in the hereafter, hence his sudden passing.
In concluding his narrative, Reb Eliezer referred to R. Avigdor’s tremendous humanitarianism, equating it with that of Avraham Avinu, and further elucidated upon the ordinary person’s unlikelihood of attaining such sublime elevation in the afterlife without first passing a test of hardship; heaven had thus decreed that R. Avigdor endure the affliction of impoverishment.
Following some brief meditation, Reb Eliezer gave the impression of arguing with an invisible force: “No, I do not agree with the harsh ruling that would, moreover, result in a chillul Hashem, for serious question would arise as to how R. Avigdor, renowned for his unstinting generosity, came to deserve such fate. A little suffering will suffice.”
At that, Rebbe Eliezer took a piece of challah and offered it to R. Avigdor along with a blessing that he merit to continue giving bread to the hungry for the rest of his life, in the same manner he had done all along.
