R. Shmelke of Nikolsburg

Rebbe Shmuel Shmelke Horowitz was a renowned scholar and leader of the second generation of the Chassidic movement.

As she was washing, a known local robber and swindler swiped the ring and ran off... She shrieked that the robber just made off with her ring. "It is worth 100 coins!"

The community leaders infomed R. Shmelke that they had a special custom: every new rabbi was expected to add a new rule or custom to the chronicles of the community

The Rabbi sighed. "You don't know what a difficult time I've been having with the stubborn people here. Ever since I got back, they've been under the delusion that Shabbat is a day later, and I can't seem to convince them"

“You are young and agile; run after the thief and tell him that he can have the ring as a gift.”

Another man, whom I didn’t recognize, sat opposite the rabbi, learning with him.

Some of the town’s most distinguished community members hinted that perhaps the rabbi was wrongly suited for a city as “modern and developed” as Nikolsburg.