A well-to-do Hasidic rabbi near Danzig made a habit of warmly greeting everyone he met, including a local German farmer named Herr Muller, with “Guten Morgen, Herr Muller!” The farmer would reply politely.
When the Nazis occupied the area, the rabbi was deported to Auschwitz. During a selection (left for death, right for life), as he stood before the infamous Dr. Mengele or a similar selector, he looked up and recognized Herr Muller in an SS uniform. The rabbi greeted him as always: “Guten Morgen, Herr Muller!”
Muller, startled, replied, “Guten Morgen, Herr Rabbiner. What are you doing here?” He then directed the rabbi to the right—to life. Years later, the elderly rabbi told Yaffa Eliach: “This is the power of a good-morning greeting. A man must always greet his fellow man.”
This tale highlights how everyday kindness and dignity can plant seeds that bear fruit in the darkest times.
