The poverty of Rabbi DovBer, the Maggid of Mezeritch, was legendary. Meals,
when they were, were a crust of bread; the "furniture" in his hovel was an
assortment of wooden planks and stumps. Once he was asked by his disciples: "Rebbe,
why is it that you must endure such abject conditions, while others, much less
deserving than yourself, enjoy the blessings of G-d’s world?" Rabbi DovBer
replied with a story:
A wealthy man once married off his daughter. The father of the bride was a
most generous and charitable man, and desired to share his joy with the
unfortunate. So he put up notices in all the synagogues and poorhouses in the
vicinity, inviting every beggar and vagabond to partake of the wedding feast.
The day of the wedding arrived. Hundreds of beggars took their places around
tables laden with the best and the tastiest food money could buy. But then
tragedy struck. The bride suddenly fell ill. The greatest doctors were rushed to
her side, but to no avail. The bride died and the wedding was transformed into
mourning.
The beggars were divided into two camps. One group said: "The food is on
the table. Who knows when, if ever, another such opportunity to fill our
stomachs will present itself? Surely, our host would not want all this delicious
food to be wasted. If we remain hungry, would this alleviate his grief?"
The second group of beggars, however, would not touch the food that lay
before them. "How can we eat and drink," they cried, "when the one who
provided all this mourns? How can we enjoy a feast whose purpose and cause has
been transformed into calamity?"
"The world is a wedding feast," concluded Rabbi DovBer, "created for
the sake of G-d’s union with His bride, Israel. But then the wedding was
disrupted, the nuptial home -- the Holy Temple -- destroyed. Yes, the feast is
there for the taking, but its soul is devastated, its provider is in mourning.
"There are those who have no difficulty enjoying what they can of the
feast. I, however, belong to the second group of beggars. I cannot bring
myself to partake of the leavings of this aborted wedding..."
