A student of the Besht asked the Besht: if I am traveling in the forest and I meet a Jew who is a cripple should I give him a ride in my wagon.
No, the Besht answered: you should hit the horses with your whip and quickly run away.
Once, the student traveled in the middle of the forest and he suddenly bumped into someone who appeared to be lame, and he screamed: Jews have mercy I am half frozen, save me, let me ride in your wagon. The student almost invited him to travel along, but at the last minute he recalled the words of the Besht and he quickly ran away – as he sped away he heard the cripple fire a bullet from his revolver.
When he returned he related what happened to the Besht.
The Besht responded: don’t you understand – how does a cripple end up in the middle of the forest, how was he able to walk so far. This is a sign that he is a robber, and one must beware of him.
[Heschel added: this story is also told about the Rishiner]
I.F.
Dovid Fishman