#523: Lost and Found

וְנָסַע דֶּגֶל מַחֲנֵה בְנֵי־דָן מְאַסֵּף לְכָל־הַמַּחֲנֹת לְצִבְאֹתָם וְעַל־צְבָאוֹ אֲחִיעֶזֶר בֶּן־עַמִּישַׁדָּי׃

Then, as the rear guard of all the divisions, the standard of the division of Dan would set out, troop by troop. In command of its troop was Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai;

Let’s start off today with a Hasidic story:

The tzaddik Rabbi Yeḥiel Mikhel of Zlotsov, a student of the Baal Shem Tov and the Maggid of Mezeritch, did a lot to spread Hasidism in Eastern Europe. In order to do so, he would often travel to Volhyna and Galicia, where he inspired the Jewish masses with his folksy sermons. The masses nicknamed him “Rebbe Mikhle,” and they also called him the Maggid (storyteller) of Zotslov, the name of a little town in Galicia between Sasov and Prymyzlan, where he served for many years and was known as the Maggid Meisharim. Rabbi Yeḥiel had a custom of praying late every day, after many hours of thought and study. Once, those who were close to him asked why he always prayed the morning service so late. This is how Rabbi Yeḥiel answered them: “In Parashat Beha’lotekha, we learn that the tribe of Dan was the ‘rearguard of all divisions.’ Moreover, we read in the Jerusalem Talmud (Eiruvin 5:1) that Dan had many soldiers, and it was therefore stationed in the back. If somebody up ahead lost something, a member of Dan would find it and return it to…