The Rizhiner Rebbe had inherited his great-grandfather's tefilin, and when the Rizhiner Rebbe passed away, his six sons all wanted this most precious possession. The brothers decided to cast lots and David Moshe was the winner.
A number of years passed. Rabbi Avraham Yaakov, the oldest son of the Rizhiner Rebbe, was now renown as the Rebbe of Sadigura. One day, the Sadigura Rebbe mentioned to his Chasidim that he had wanted to have the special tefilin inherited by his brother, Rabbi David Moshe.
A young Chasid revealed in a trembling voice, "Knowing how much the Rebbe had wanted the Maggid's tefilin, my friend and I traveled to Rabbi David Moshe's home and secretly took the parchments out of the tefilin boxes and replaced them with perfectly kosher parchments. We meant no harm to the Rebbe's brother and only hoped to please the Rebbe. Afterwards we had second thoughts but now that we heard how much the Rebbe had wanted the Maggid's tefilin, we have decided to tell the Rebbe what we did."
The Chasidim who heard this confession trembled in disbelief. How could these two do such a dreadful thing?! On the other hand, if Rabbi David Moshe remained unaware, then perhaps the tefilin really weren't intended for him?
The Sadigura Rebbe unwrapped the parchments, looked them over care-fully, lovingly rewrapped them in his silk kerchief and put them away. "We will go visit my brother," said the Rebbe.
When the Sadigura Rebbe and his Chasidim arrived in Potick, his brother welcomed them graciously. The following morning, Rabbi David Moshe took his brother into a private room, where they were to pray together. On the table lay three pairs of tefilin next to each other - Rashi, Rabbeinu Tam and Shimusha Rabba. A little further away was another pair of tefilin in a bag that the Sadigura Rebbe recognized as the Maggid's tefilin.
Rabbi David Moshe held the Maggid's tefilin with eyes closed in contemplation. Then he sighed and put them down. He put on his own Rashi tefilin and began to pray. Afterwards, he put on the other two pairs of tefilin.
When they finished praying, the Sadigura Rebbe asked his brother why he did not put on the saintly Maggid's tefilin. Rabbi David Moshe sighed again. "I have not put them on since one morning when I picked them up and did not feel their holiness. This could only mean that I am no longer worthy to put them on." Rabbi David Moshe continued, saying, "I want you to have these tefilin. I am sure that you are worthier than I."
The Sadigura Rebbe said, "These tefilin truly are meant for you." And he proceeded to tell his brother what had happened. Upon finishing, the Sadigura Rebbe took out his silk kerchief and handed it to his brother. "I am sure that as soon as you replace these in their boxes, you will once again feel their holiness."
Soon afterwards, Rabbi David Moshe moved to Tchortkow and became famous as the Tchortkower Rebbe. When he felt that his soul would return to his Maker, he called in his only son, Yisrael. "I am leaving the Maggid's tefilin to you as an inheritance. Cherish them and guard them well," he told his son.
Rabbi Yisrael used the Maggid's tefilin only twice each year, on Purim and on the eve of Yom Kippur. On all other days, Rabbi Yisrael used his own tefilin. During WWI, Rabbi Yisrael and his family had to leave their home in Tchortkow in great haste. In the sudden rush, the tefilin were left behind. Rabbi Yisrael was heartbroken, but there was nothing he could do. He and his family found refuge in Lvov. When the Russians threatened Lvov, they moved to Vienna to await the end of the war. Several years later, the Russians were driven out of Galicia, and Tchortkow was liberated. Although he tried, Rabbi Yisrael was not able to return to Tchortkow to look for the Maggid's tefilin.
When the war was finally over, Rabbi Yisrael was visited by a Jewish POW. The soldier took out a tefilin bag from his rucksack and handed it to Rabbi Yisrael. Lovingly the Rebbe kissed the tefilin. In a trembling voice, he said, "I always knew that somehow these tefilin would return to me. You have done the great mitzva (commandment) of returning a lost item. Where did you get these?"
The soldier began, "I was serving in the Russian army. When we were chasing the Austrians we reached Tchortkow. I had been to Tchortkow as a child; my father was a chasid of the Rebbe. I recognized the Rebbe's house and I saw soldiers ransacking it. I went inside. I could feel that one room was permeated with holiness. I searched in the debris and found this tefilin bag!"
Continued the soldier, "I survived the war due to many miracles, which I attribute to the fact that the tefilin were in my possession. I was captured and became a prisoner of war. I was recently released and am now on my way home. My first stop was to find the Rebbe and bring him his tefilin."
"G-d will surely reward you for your great mitzva. And for the great pleasure that you have brought me, I insist that you be my guest for a few days. Please wait a moment while I go ask my attendant to make the arrangements."
The Rebbe spoke with his attendant and then went back into his room, but the soldier was nowhere to be seen. The Rebbe called in his attendant and told him, "Quickly, bring the soldier back who just left my room!"
"I did not see anyone leave the Rebbe's room," the attendant answered.
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