Don't spend the night in a house whose door faces east

The disciples of Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi, the first Chabad Rebbe, were often sent by him to distant places in order to inspire Jews in their G-dly serivce. While on these missions, the Rebbe's emissaries collected funds for scholars in the Holy Land, a charity to which the Rebbe was devoted from his youth. One such emissary was the chasid Reb Zalman Zezmer.

When Reb Zalman came to the Rebbe to receive his blessing for the success of his mission, the Rebbe added the unusual words: "Don't spend the night in a house whose door faces east."

True to the Rebbe's blessing, Reb Zalman was highly successful in his travels, touching the hearts of hundreds of Jews. He also managed to collect a handsome sum of money to be sent to the Holy Land to sustain Torah scholars who had no means of support other than the money from their brethren abroad.

Reb Zalman was happily on his way home, having fulfilled the command of his Rebbe, when he noticed that the wagon was traveling off the beaten road. The driver too had realized the error, but in the blackness of the country road he had no idea how to get back to the main road. They continued on their way, allowing the horses to blindly proceed when suddenly in the distance they saw a light. Following the light, they soon arrived at a house. They knocked on the door and were warmly received by the elderly resident.

Reb Zalman and his driver were exhausted by the trip and their frightening experience of being lost in the darkness. Reb Zalman washed his hands in preparation for praying the evening service, and turned to his host to inquire which direction was the eastern wall, the direction of prayer. When the old man pointed to the door, Reb Zalman froze in his place, the words of the Rebbe sounding in his ears, "Don't stay in a house which has the door in the east."

He immediately called the driver and in frantic tones told him, "Prepare to leave at once!" The driver looked at him in astonishment. "What? Leave now? Why we've only just arrived and besides, we have nowhere to go and don't even know where we are!" Still the appearance of Reb Zalman and his tone of urgency left no room for question.

He began to gather their belongings and was headed for the door when he was stopped by the booming voice of their host who screamed at the top of his lungs: "Where do you think you're going? I take guests into my house, but I don't let them go so fast! Put down your belongings, you're not leaving this house!"

With that frightening announcement, the man left the room and bolted the door behind him. The two prisoners just stared at each other, wondering what to do. Rough voices were heard as a group of men entered the adjoining room behind the locked door. "What's that carriage outside?" roared one of the voices. "Look's like you've managed to snare a pretty fancy one this time."

"You've hit it on the head there," snickered the erstwhile host. "Why, they're loaded; I could hear the coins jingling all the way across the house."

"I'm gonna get a look for myself," said one of the band, and with that the door swung open. Greeting the eyes of the prisoners was quite a vision: six gangsters with blood in their eyes. "Ha!" one barked, "I guess these ones won't escape while we eat. It looks like they're here to stay." A variety of grunts and laughs followed as the murderous gang proceeded to crowd around a table.

But Reb Zalman, having been sent to perform a mitzva by his Rebbe, was undaunted by their threats. "Listen to me," he cried. "I have been sent by a very holy man, Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi, a saint who knows many secret things, and you will never get away with your evil plans, for his merit protects me. My master warned me not to spend the night in a house whose door faces east. Your fellow thief can attest that as soon as I realized that the door of this house faces to the east I tried to flee, but he prevented me from leaving. And now, I warn you, if you don't allow us to depart in peace, my holy master will avenge our blood and you will live to regret your deed!"

The gang members burst out in raucous guffaws...all except one -- the owner of the house whose countenance seemed to change as soon as he heard those words pronounced.

At nightfall, Reb Zalman and his companion were again closed behind the heavily barred door and, imprisoned in the darkness, they recited Psalms with much weeping and pleading for Divine mercy. At the crack of dawn they heard furtive footsteps approaching from the other side of the door. When the door opened they saw the owner of the house standing before them, his fingers to his lips, warning them to be quiet, motioning to them to follow him.

When they stepped into the main room, the man said in a low voice, "Hurry, I will help you escape." He led them to their wagon and as they were readying the horses for the escape he whispered, "I saved you because of your Rebbe. Take these fifty rubles to give to the holy man."

They urged on the horses and sped toward Liadi. When they arrived, the Rebbe said to them: "I didn't sleep the entire night on your behalf." He then took the fifty ruble note and stuck it into a crack in the wall, and there it remained. Years later an elderly man arrived in Liadi and requested to see the Rebbe. The Rebbe refused to admit the man, but removed the fifty ruble note from the crack in the wall and ordered that it be given to him.