The young bride, disquieted by her husband's unusual devotions, described them to her father, who decided to investigate personally. Entering the bedroom, he lifted up the pillow; the shock of his discovery was worse than anything he had imagined. His son-in-law was studying the book Toldot Yaakov Yosef written by one of the leaders of the Chasidim of the Baal Shem Tov!
The father-in-law was determined to dissuade the young man from pursuing this ruinous alliance with Chasidism. He tried every approach, but to no avail. Finally, when he saw that the young fellow couldn't be budged, the distraught father insisted on a divorce. But this extreme reaction was vetoed by both the husband and wife, who were, in all other respects, quite happy.
What could be done? At his wits end, the father sought advice from his friends in the small town, all confirmed opponents of the new "sect." The suggestions brought forth were many, but in the end there was more smoke than fire-the resolution to the problem eluded them all. The debate not only continued, but became, in fact, so bitter and angry, that news of it reached the ears of the governor of the region, a retired army officer. Curious about the cause of the great brouhaha, the governor's interest intensified when he heard that it was all because of a book. It was explained to him that the book in question was authored by one Yaakov Yosef of Polonnoye, a man who led his co-religionists "astray" by his erroneous teachings. The governor went so far as to procure the said book and check the authorship, as this information was also printed in the Russian language. Having satisfied himself, he summoned the whole group of disputants and their fellow-travelers to appear before him.
"The time has come," he said, "for me to tell of events which took place one spring many years ago when I was serving as a colonel in the Polonnoye district. It happened that my unit had orders to move out, and so, the customary roll call was taken, only to discover that three soldiers were missing. I sent two others to the adjacent town to find them and bring them back. But they returned without their lost comrades, telling a most incredible story. The missing men were discovered inside the candle-lit home of an aged rabbi, standing like wax statues, unable to speak or move. I found it impossible to believe such a tale, so I dispatched another detail of men; but they returned with the same story. The only thing left to do was to go myself, and that is what I did.
"Entering the house, I saw an old man with the angelic appearance of a saint. When I dared, I addressed him, 'Forgive me for interrupting; I see you are a holy man. But these soldiers must leave with their unit today. Please allow them to leave your house.' The old rabbi replied, saying, that these men must have stolen something. If they replaced the items, they will be free to depart. Sure enough, we discovered all manner of silver vessels secreted in their greatcoats. We removed them and they were freed."
These events occurred on the first night of Passover at the home of Rabbi Yaakov Yosef. The roaming soldiers had entered the unlocked house, helped themselves to the remaining holiday food, and then also the silver vessels. They were undeterred by the presence of the old man who, in any case, seemed to be asleep. But when they tried to leave, they found themselves rooted to the floor and struck dumb.
The governor continued, "But when I saw this miracle, I requested from the rabbi his blessing for long life. When I asked him exactly how long I would live, he declined to say, replying that this is known only by G-d. All he would say is that a time would come when I would be required to relate this story to a group of Jews who did not know him. This would be a sign that my days were ending. Now, I see the truth of his words, but thanks to him, I have been able to bring this matter to a happy conclusion.
The young couple lived out their days in peace, and the governor was soon brought to his final rest.
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