The Southern Israelite
Page 19
jV r Reb Benzion felt the blood ris-
swiftly to his head, and before his
,'.ve S S red dames seemed to dance, as
he implored:
■■Have mercy, Keb Shmaye, dear Reb
<hmave, kind Reb Shmaye—” but Reb
<hmaye had by this time covered his
hea ,i with his quilt while has teeth
chattered with cold and fear.
Are the people here crazy,” mut-
vml Reb Benzion, ‘‘or do they take
rpe for a fool?”
-They certainly do. I never heard
one talk that way to a wise man.
Put any way, suppose you try' a few
h, u<ec further,” suggested the driver
a^ain.
And Reb Benzion knocked at an-
• h, r door. Here a head appeared at
:h. window. On seeing Reb Benzion a
m. called loud from within:
Sh'ma Yisroel, Sh’ma Yisroel. Go
hark to your resting place.”
Keb Benzion wiped the large drops
f jH-rspiration from his face with his
- a* sleeve. He knocked at door after
or. hut from everywhere came the
Stay away from the living. Go
r.aek to your resting place.”
N< matter how well your neighbors
may mean, Reb Benzion,” said the
driver as he mounted his wagon and
k the reins and whip in his hands,
I cannot for anything in the world
make up my mind to accompany you
where these people send you. Giddyap,
horse. Whoa!”
The driver’s yell and the noise of
•hr horses trying to pull the heavy
wagon out of the snow, brought Reb
Benzion back to his senses.
Take me to the house of Rebbe
Mendelle, whom people regard as a
mder worker. He must still be up
•"th his many followers, and I am
ir« that they will not act like fools.
I 'hall spend the night in his house.”
“ W *• 11, I will try you once more.
B i' don’t ask me to take you any oth-
place. Whoa! Giddyap!” And the
'alt frozen animals were again pull-
‘heir burden with much difficulty
trd the house of the wonder work-
M' Rabbi.
Through the shutters it could be
• • n that Rebbe Mendelle with his
‘gahuim” (adjutants) were still
Aa kReb Benzion knocked several
■ until at last a voice was heard
'».ving:
""ho is knocking there?”
Merciful brothers,” he implored,
e pity and open the door. I am
’ * * zing out here.”
Rebbe, whispered the elder "gabi,’
believe it is the voice of the de-
eao-d Benzion.”
Tho Rebbe became pale and the
-ahi asked again:
" ho is there ?”
"It is Benzion.”
"Benzion!” cried the rabbi and his
•'• adjutants as they jumped from
nr B* aces - The stillness of the room
^as interrupted only by the chatter
u ir teeth. Finally, the Rebbe re-
, 1 . a Bttle courage and said in a
rf *mblmg voice:
ow flare you Benzion, s<
K ap ta Be. how dare you come 1
* J T’, you wbo * n y° ur lifetin
' brea d to the hungry, shel
• meless, aid to the needy-
art* sou come here, you w f hose
?rm K?T r c> F > ^ n to help a brotl
t bl *‘ IX) you not know wh
! a m ? Who permits you to
and disturb me at this hour of the
night? Disappear. I order you to re
turn to your resting place.”
‘‘Say, that Rabbi gave you a fine
sermon,” remarked the driver with a
smile. “You may remain here and
listen to some more of it if you wish,
hut I assure you I have no particular
desire to do so. I am going to find a
warm place for my self and my two
breadwinners. Whoa! Giddyap.” With
these words he cracked his whip and
the horses began to pull the wagon
away. Poor Benzion remained near
the closed shutters, raving in power
less rage, only to change his tone into
one of supplication:
“Holy Rabbi, have mercy. Open the
door for me.”
‘‘Back to your rest,” came the voice
from the house.
“But dear Rebbe, I swear by my
faith that I shall not leave this place
unless you open the door for me.
Have mercy, let me in.”
‘‘He probably came,” suggested one
of the adjutants, ‘‘that you should
help his soul find rest.”
‘‘Reb Benzion,” began the Rabbi
who understood that it would do no
good to speak in an angry manner,
‘‘forgive me a hundred times, go bark
to your resting place. Be assured that
I shall pray for you and do whatever
1 can for your poor sinful soul. Now
vanish. Return to where you belong
and be not among the living”
‘‘May hell swallow you and your
adjutants,” murmured Benzion, and
then added aloud: ‘‘But holy one, I
am not dead. I swear you. may I live
so, I am not dead. I am as much alive
as you, as anyone else of our com
munity. I am so cold. The frost is
reaching my heart. Let me come in
and get warm, at least.”
“He wants to get warm,” said one
of the ‘‘gabbis." “Did you hear, Reb
be, he wants to get warm. Suppose
we do the will of the deceased and
let him come in. We have “mezuses”
(prayer scrolls on door posts) and
sacred books in the house. He can
have no evil power over us. Let him
come in that we may exact an oath
from him not to molest the living.”
For several minutes the wonder
worker and his adjutants held counsel
among themselves how to deal with
the deceased one who was about to
enter their house. They had reaehed
the conclusion that he should be per
mitted to enter the house. One must
take pity on the dead as well as the
living. The wonderworker being a stu
dent of the Cabbala, advised his adju
tants to wrap themselves in their
prayer shaws and to take prayer
books in their hands. As for himself,
he wrapped even his head, hiding his
eyes with the prayer shawl, and took
the largest prayer book he possessed
and held it open with both hands.
When they were all armed for the
assault that was about to follow, the
meeting of the living with the dead,
Reb Benzion ordered courageously:
“Reb Fivel, open the door.”
Reb Fivel, in spite of his great re
spect for the one from whose lips
emanated the order, remained glued
to the spot where he stood. He seemed
unable to execute the wish of the
rabbi, and the latter turned to his
other adjutant:
“You open it, then, Reb Shmaye.”
But Reb Shmaye, with all his re
spect for the “Rebbe,” did not budge.
He seemed to have even less courage
than the others.
(To Be Continued)
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