Reb Zusha of Annipole, the brother of “The Seer” Elimelech of Lizhensk, was a devout man. He held himself “small” ill spite of his renown and was always fearful that out of vanity he might preen himself as a man of God.
One time he paid a visit to Rabbi Mordecai of Nizchot.
As the hour of midnight approached, he got out of bed and, in a voice
full of anguish, cried out: “God, O my soul! I love You so much, yet I lack the inner power to express it!”
He paced to and fro in his room, repeating these strange, passionate words over and over again with the deepest mortification.
All this while his host, Rabbi Mordecai, stood with a companion behind the door, marveling greatly at what he heard. After a few moments of silence he heard Rabbi Zisha exclaim, “O my Creator! I do not know how to commune with You for my thoughts are confused and my words stumble one upon the other. But dear Lord, I have one insignificant talent - I can whistle. So do let me whistle in order that I may glorify Your Name.”
Thereupon the stillness of the night was broken by a rapturous whistling. It was like the song of a bird trilling in the sun. It was like the whisper of the leaves when the wind blows through them. It was like the chant of the Cherubim and the Seraphim winging in joy to the Throne of the Almighty.
When Rabbi Mordecai heard the whistling he began to tremble. “Come!” he cried to his companion. “Let us get away from here before the flames of this holiness consume us!”
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