THE UNIQUE SIDDUR

 The eminent Reb Meir  Margolios,  the  author  of "Meir Nesivim" and chief judge of the Beis  Din  of Ostrow, and his brother,  the  celebrated  Reb  Yitzchok Dov Ber, chief justice of the court  in Yazlovitz,  were both  dedicated   disciples  of  the  Baal  Shem Tov.

Once, after spending the Shabbos by their holy rebbe, they wished to take their leave on motzoei Shab­bos  and  receive  his blessing.

"My sons !" said the :Baal Shem Tov to them. "So dear  are you to me,  so great is my love for you,  that I wish to have you always close to me. I possess a valuable, hand-written  siddur
which I use for my daily prayers. Write  your  names  and  your  mother's  name in the shmone esrai by the blessing of your choice so that your names will forever appear before me as a remembrance.

"The Baal Meir Nesivim regarded his brother, older than he by several years, expectantly, to see which bles­sing he would choose. "I choose the blessing of 'Shomeia Tefilo' - Hearer of Prayers," answered Reb Yitzchok Dov. 

The Baal Shem Tov took his siddur, turned to that blessing, and laid it bef ore him. The two celebrated brothers sat down and signed their names in it by the margin of "Shomeia Tefilo".

Many years passed and the siddur eventually came into the possession  of  Reb Moshe  of  Savron.

One day an important visitor, one of the Meir Ne­ sivim's grandsons, happened to visit him. The talk came around to the Baal Shem Tov and his unique  siddur which  the  host  said he now  possessed.

"I value it immensely," said Reb Moshe,  "but  I have no way of knowing whether this particular siddur is the one that the Baal Shem  Tov  actually  davened from  all  the  time." 

"I have a certain sign which can prove beyond doubt if it is truly his personal siddur," said the guest, and went on to relate the incident that naa occurred to his grandfather.

"Bring the siddur and we can both be convinced,'' he said in conclusion.

When the siddur was  brought,  Reb  Moshe  turned to the shmone esrai and indeed, found the two famous signatures in the margin. He jumped up and began dancing around the room in joy, for the two signatures proclaimed louder than could a hundred witnesses, that the siddur he possessed was in fact the holy Baal Shem Tov's  own.

( Emunas  Tzadikim)