“He shall remove its crop with its feathers, and he shall throw it”

(Vayikra 1:16)

“But with regard to fowl, which [generally] takes its sustenance from that which is stolen ... it says, ‘he shall throw [away] the innards’ -- for it ate from that which is stolen.” (Rashi)

R’ Chaim of Sanz ate little. He did not fast, but ate only enough to support his body and soul, “so that they do not run away,” as he put it. He would taste a bit of every dish, then distribute the rest. His taste was very discriminating and he had a fine sensitivity when it came to food.

It is said that one Shabbos, when the tzimmes was served, the Rebbe picked up his spoon in order to taste it. Then he turned the spoon over and returned the tzimmes to its plate without tasting it. Everyone wondered at this, surprised that the Rebbe refused to partake of a Shabbos dish.

Later it was discovered that the carrots from which the tzimmes were made had been taken from a young gentile boy who, when passing by the Rebbe’s house earlier in the day, had broken a pane of glass in a window. Members of the household caught the boy and took the carrots away as a fine for breaking the window.

Though the Rebbe knew nothing of all this, his delicate sensitivity sensed that the carrots fell into the category of stolen property, and he refused to touch the dish made from them.