Yohanan Rakhmansrivker once visited R. Isaac Skverer. They placed on the table old wine from the Land of Israel. R. Isaac poured him a cup for Kiddush. When R. Isaac looked away for a moment, R. Yohanan poured another cup of regular wine.
R. Isaac nevertheless noticed and asked R. Yohanan why he had done that. R. Yohanan replied: “I am hardly a connoisseur of wine. [However,] the power of the evil inclination is unfathomable. It can convince me precisely that I don’t like the Land of Israel wine so I don’t want to, heaven forbid, utter something negative about the fruits of the Land of Israel – so I don’t want to subject myself to such a temptation. R. Isaac replied: “I knew you to be a pious Jew – but to such a degree, this I didn’t know.”
I.F.
Pinchas Landau
Heard from R. Nahum Rakhmansrivker, R. Yohanan’s son
