One day, a
student of the Baal Shem Tov made a journey to his Rebbe for Yom Kippur.
It was a long distance he had to cover and he had not reached his
destination on the day before Yom Kippur. All alone in an open field,
the chassid (A member of a Jewish sect that observes a form of strict
Orthodox Judaism) neither had food for himself, nor hay for his horse.
The chassid decided to take some rest. He let his horse free to graze
and himself lied down under a tree. The exhaustion of the journey made
him fall asleep. When he woke up, he found himself to be staring at the
starlit night sky. He was still quite far from the city. He had no
choice but to remain outside the city and to observe Yom Kippur there.
The chassid was very upset at his inability. He performed the Yom Kippur
prayer alone, with a heavy heart.
When Yom Kippur ended, the boy traveled to the city. He met the Baal
Shem Tov, who greeted him with a smile and received him with much
warmth. He asked the chassid what took him so long. When the chassid
told him about all that had happened, the wise man smiled and said: "Do
you know? Your prayer was not in vain. In fact I believe your prayer
elevated all the prayers of the 'people of the fields.'"