For the week ending 7 March 2009 / 11 Adar I 5769
Feeding the Cat
When the rav of Kovna, Rabbi Yitzchak Elchanan Spektor, zatzal, went to a village across the river during the summer to enjoy some fresh air, he forgot something. This is why he was on the main street of the village early in the morning looking for someone to deliver a message to his home.
One young man agreed to take a letter from Rav Spektor across the river. He could not, however, resist the temptation to read the letter and learn what urgent matter prompted his mission.
To his great surprise he discovered that the rabbi wrote that there was a cat that always visited the yard of his home, and he was in the practice of providing a dish of milk for its consumption. Since he was away he asked that someone take over this responsibility.