An Angel Of God

לזכות ידיד נפשי משה יהודה בן פעשא דינה שיזכה לזיווג הגון במהרה

Nuuuuu sweet, beloved friends. After all the talk about the evil deeds of some Rabbis, a story about how it SHOULD be done. On the Rav's yahrtzeit. זכות הצדיקים יעזור ויגן ויושיע!!:-)

Rabbi Eliyahu Weissfish was on an airplane going to America and an older man who didn't look particularly religious, sat down next to him. The man first spoke to Rabbi Weissfish in heavily accented English but when Rabbi Weissfish related that he is a Yerushalmi he switched to Yiddish. Upon learning that Rabbi Weissfish was the grand nephew of Rav Charlap ztl"z he told the following story:

When I was a child I was mesmerized by the holy presence of Rav Charlap. It seemed to me that he radiated the Shechina. Even his bekeshe seemed to shine more than anybody elses. I would accompany him to the Gra shul on Friday night, daven in the Chasidic shul and then go back to the Gra shul where he davened and walk him home.

One week I noticed a man who was contorting his face in a strange way. When Rav Charlap came close I understood what he had been doing. He proceeded to empty out the contents of his mouth on the Rav. The Rav didn't look at his aggressor [so as not to feel enmity towards him or maybe so as not to embarrass him] and took out a handkerchief and cleaned his face, beard and clothing as well as he could and then walked home deep in thought. His eyes looked very sad. I wanted to hug and console him. 

I now knew that this man was truly an angel of G-d.

The man removed an old picture from his wallet and showed it to Rabbi Weissfish. He explained that he had undergone many difficulties in his life. Whenever he thought to do something he shouldn't have, he looked at the holy Rav and asked himself how he could look at this holy man and veer from the path of Judaism. Everything he has become in this world, he said, is thanks to Rav Charlap.

[Based on a story in the Rav's biography Shirat Ha-yam]