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17 Ellul 5761 - September 5, 2001 | Mordecai Plaut, director Published Weekly
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Home and Family
YERUSHOLAYIM OF YESTERYEAR
The Mystery of the Missing Key

by Yisca Shimony

Minna was busy feeding her two little youngsters. When they were full and drowsy, she put them to bed for their daily afternoon nap. Now that all was quiet, she suddenly realized that her husband had not come home for his meal. Was he fasting today?

Knowing him, he just might be doing that. Still, she worried about his absence. She went over to the window and looked outside at the narrow path leading to their home. "It is very quiet," she thought, trying to feel relieved. "If, G-d forbid, something had happened, I would have heard a commotion from the neighbors. Yes, it's good that it is quiet."

Her husband made his appearance many tense hours later. The renowned R' Nochum Levy, better known as R' Nochum Shaddiker, after his Polish town of origin, Shadik, entered the house, his face pale, his demeanor sad.

"Has anything happened?" asked the worried Minna.

"Nothing unusual..." he replied casually. "I was delayed. I was just busy praying."

Minna looked again and realized how extremely pale her husband looked. "Boruch Hashem, you are safely home. I was truly worried." She left the living room and went outside to the courtyard where their tiny kitchen was to warm up some soup. As she entered it, she noticed the big brass key hanging on the large nail in its usual place. "That's strange. Come to think of it, it wasn't there a few minutes ago. And now it's back!" Who had taken it? Who had returned it?

*

It was on that same day, early in the morning, that Minna Levy had walked down the path with her two little ones, her shopping done for the day. She headed back home carrying little Dovid, two months old, cradled in her right arm, while carrying a heavy cloth bag full of fresh vegetables in her left. Two-year-old Osher Lemel was walking alongside her, holding tightly on to her dress. She walked slowly, balancing the burdens of both arms, maintaining the pace of her toddler's little feet.

Down the road she saw a caravan of camels advancing in their direction. Little Osher Lemel saw them too, and became frightened. He began wailing. She pulled him aside and bent down, covering the sight of the tall, gangly but solid-bodied beasts from her son within the ample folds of her skirt. She kept talking in a comforting voice to reassure him. Soon the camels had passed and once more, Minna advanced down the path. Suddenly, she saw a thick flock of sheep heading up the road, being herded by two Arab shepherds who called loudly, "Ah! Ah! Drrrrr!"

Osher Lemel was frightened again and started wailing loudly. Minna, also frightened by their numbers, thought, "If they start rushing, they might trample the boy." Not a far-fetched fear. She looked around for refuge and found a niche in the wall not far from where she had stopped. She headed for it quickly, pulling along the crying Osher Lemel with all her might. Again, she blocked the view of the advancing sheep with her skirt, but realized that he was watching them and the noisy shepherds from between the folds. The baby woke up and began fidgeting restlessly in her arms. His eyes reflected her own fear. She hugged him close and clucked to him. Then she bent down to talk to Osher Lemel. "Look what I have for you!" she said, fishing out a tomato from her bag. "See how red and round it is. Just like a ball. You like tomatoes, don't you?"

He nodded without moving his eyes from the advancing sea of sheep. She felt them rub against her legs and saw the Arab lads waving their big sticks and calling loudly, "Ah! Ah! Drrrrr!" At last, the herd had moved past them and up the road. Minna advanced towards her home. Osher Lemel had to run to keep up with her pace. She was afraid of other obstacles turning up before she reached home safely...

They finally made it. Since the front door was locked, she went to the window of their little kitchen, outside in the courtyard, reached into the window, pulled the curtain aside and felt for the key. For a moment, she looked bewildered. Something was wrong. There was only one key, the one to their home. Where was the other one? The large brass key. She had no idea what it was used for, where it belonged. She had once asked her husband about it but he had shrugged his shoulders and said, "Just keep it there till the owner needs it." And now it was gone!

*

She had entered her home and immediately became busy with the children and putting up a soup for lunch. She was glad she had purchased the vegetables, which would be the mainstay of the meal. She reviewed the morning's events, beginning with her bargaining with the Arab vendress who started the haggling with such high prices. It had been hard work getting her down to normal sums, but that's how it always went. Arabs doubled or tripled the amount to begin with, expecting to receive much less. For the gentle Minna, it was a weekly ordeal. Then the scare with the camels, and the sheep. It all came back vividly as she peeled the potatoes and carrots for the soup.

*

She recalled the past, the little Polish town of Shklov, where they had been surrounded by goyim and had suffered hatred and hostility. Even as a child, her husband had been very sensitive, had felt the pain of Hashem in exile, as it were, and had continually climbed up the ladder of faith. Upon coming to Eretz Yisroel, they had hoped to be free of the goyim, but even here, in the holy city of Yerusholayim, her husband kept reminding her that "we are still part of the golus. Even Hashem is distressed about it. `In hidden places, Hashem cries along'," he would quote.

Her thoughts returned to the events of the morning, to her missing husband, and to the missing brass key that had disappeared and then reappeared. She asked him about it but his answer was evasive and she soon forgot about it again.

*

Many years later, Minna found out the secret of the big brass key. The Jerusalem grapevine spoke about R' Nochum and thirteen other great tzaddikim, the only ones who possessed identical keys. They had rented a cave like room, a windowless room within a room, hidden from sight, unknown for many years to the public. Situated near the Shiloach fountain in which the tana R' Yishmoel, Kohen Godol, had immersed himself to purify his body before entered the Beis Hamikdosh, there, in seclusion, each of the fourteen men in turn, would come to commune and commiserate with the Shechina, as it were, to cry there along with the Shechina and bemoan the endless golus...

 

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