The following story was written following an episode
which took place in France. The hero of our story, one of
the pillars of the local Orthodox Jewish community, passed
away last winter. For narrative purposes, the identity of
the two main characters, as well as other details, have been
changed, and the locale has been transferred to
Israel.
Whoever was not acquainted with R' Nachum, did not know the
prototype of a "founder" -- so his friends and acquaintances
claimed. R' Nachum himself was an avreich, a serious
learner, whose Torah was his way of life. Two whole
sedorim a day were dedicated wholly to Torah.
Everything else was squeezed in between those sedorim
or, very rarely, during one of them. In spite of this, he
managed single-handedly to establish dozens of Torah and
Chessed organizations.
Simply enough, his "founding career" got its headstart right
after his wedding when as a young kollelnik he noticed the
need for a late minyan. A slip of paper was hung up
and following several conversations with local congregants,
the minyan was organized! Since then, he became the
prime address for every project of Jewish nature which
needed to be organized. At his initiative, an Ashkenazi
minyan was established in the Central Synagogue and a
shul for yeshiva leit in the adjoining
district. A local cheder was founded (when his son
turned three) and a branch of Bais Yaacov was opened in the
neighborhood (when his daughter turned 6) and so on.
Eventually he graduated to establishing kollelim, yeshivas,
Chessed organizations and managing charity drives. Once R'
Nachum decided to carry out any project for the spiritual
benefit of the community, nothing could stand in his way. It
was as if a `full speed ahead' sign was placed in front of
his eyes and there were no limits to the efforts he put in --
telephone calls, meetings with influential personalities,
sleepless nights -- nothing could stop him from achieving
his goal.
His wife once complimented him: "It's not surprising that
with G-d's help you've succeeded in founding so many Torah
institutions. Your will-power is like an arrow -- once it
has been shot, nothing can stop it, not even a Patriot
missile!" R' Nachum sighed and smiled. Although he had
already heard this many times from his friends, it always
bothered him -- why did everyone attribute his success to
his will power?
"I disagree with your opinion," he answered. "My successes
come only from Siyata Dishmaya." "Nu," his wife
persisted, "so why do you, in particular, receive this
Heavenly assistance?" R' Nachum thought for a while and
answered, "I don't know about other people, but as for
myself, when there is a spiritual goal in front of me, I
desire it with all my heart, soul and means. I pray for it
with all my heart. Maybe that's why Hashem helps me."
"That's exactly what I said!" his wife claimed. "Your will
power is like an arrow! The stronger the will, the better
the shot." R' Nachum smiled but inwardly he was guarding
another secret! He had the custom of saying the first Psalm
of Tehillim before any important undertaking, as a
segula for success. And why didn't he reveal this
secret to his wife? It was out of bitter experience: he had
told it to several friends and they had tried it -- but
without success. According to R' Nachum, this was the type
of segula which worked only if one believed in it
deeply. Which might boil down to will power, according to
his wife. Not according to him.
Everything was going well until the last project came up --
the building of a new yeshiva. One morning found R' Nachum
on his way to see a wealthy philanthropist. As he was
passing through a secular neighborhood with beautiful villas
and lovely gardens, a new idea suddenly took root in his
mind: such an attractive area should be enhanced by a
yeshiva! Fired by this new project, he immediately set to
work. By the next day, he had already found an empty lot,
borrowed a large amount of money for the project and bought
the land. After two more days, he had contacted an architect
to draw up plans for the building. This was followed by
meetings with a well-known building contractor who agreed to
take on the project for an initial retainer of $100,000 at
the beginning of construction, with one million dollars to
be paid upon completion.
Although his wife had always supported all his building
schemes, this time she was completely opposed to the
venture. First of all, she claimed, how could he guarantee
such a large sum? And who said they need a yeshiva in such
an area -- and such a luxurious building?
"I'm not going into debt for private reasons," R' Nachum
answered, "but for the needs of the community. Hashem, Who
has helped me until now, will continue to help me. And
concerning the need for a yeshiva in such an area, I didn't
take one step without consulting one of the gedolei
hador who encouraged me to take on this project. It's
true that the building is luxurious, but one of my goals in
establishing such a yeshiva is to spread the light of Torah
among the wealthy Jews; they won't be impressed by anything
less than such an attractive building."
Resolute in his efforts, R' Nachum continued to organize the
campaign. He spoke to a talmid chochom who agreed to
serve as rosh yeshiva, and started to register students for
the yeshiva which would be opening the following semester.
However, this time his plans did not work out as expected.
For some reason, the donors he approached were not very
enthusiastic and contributed only minimal sums. And the
building contractor was waiting for $100,000 in order to
start construction.
R' Nachum was forced to borrow money to meet the advance
payment. But what would happen after that? A cloud of worry
enveloped him. This was the first time that the arrow had
been deflected from its trajectory. Perhaps his wife was
right in her objections. But no! He pushed away these
thoughts -- I have the blessing of the godol, and
whoever receives advice from the Sages is protected from
harm.
"Hashem, please help me!" he prayed fervently. Then suddenly
he remembered -- in his rush, he had forgotten to say the
first chapter of Tehillim! That's it -- I'll say it and
Hashem will help me to succeed.
*
Yitzchak, a grey haired gentleman wearing a knitted
kipa, was seated at the bus station musing
disconsolately. He had lost his wife a few years before and
since then he was suffering from loneliness. Before
retiring, he had worked as senior doctor in the Health Fund
but now he felt superfluous in the world. It wasn't as if he
were childless. On the contrary -- he had two very
successful children, Amos and Noa. Amos was a well-known
attorney and Noa was a senior lecturer in physics at the
Technion in Haifa. And both were blessed with lovely,
intelligent children. In spite of this, Yitzchak admitted to
himself that he had failed in their education. True, he and
his wife, of blessed memory, had sent their children to the
best schools and invested much in developing their talents,
but the children had not turned out exactly as they had
expected. "Although my wife and I were not as meticulously
orthodox like our parents were in Germany," Yitzchak
thought, "still we kept the basic commandments, Shabbos,
chagim, kashrus, and I even went to synagogue
three times a day. My wife read Tanach every day. But our
children distanced themselves from Jewish practice, and now
they hardly keep anything at all." The most difficult part
of it was the separation. Both Amos and Noa lived out of
town. In the past when he wanted to see them, he used to go
by car, but since an accident, he was afraid to drive. The
only way to go was by Egged bus whose route was very long
and circuitous. He used to plead with them to come visit him
but they always found excuses. Interesting how they always
had enough time for their friends. They didn't even bother
to call him. When he did visit them, he felt totally out of
place, as if he was a burden to them. After all that he and
his wife had invested, this is the thanks he got...
The hardest time for him was on Shabbos. As he waited, his
thoughts turned to his neighbor on the second floor who
became a widower recently. Throughout the week, he was
always visited by his married children and grandchildren who
helped him clean the house and do the shopping and cooking.
Every Shabbos he had guests, and for the third meal all the
children and grandchildren would come and sing, their lively
voices reverberating throughout the building. Yitzchak's
heart broke when he remembered his own lonely situation. He
had a housekeeper who cleaned and cooked for him but it
seems that one cannot buy children and grandchildren with
money.
*
The bus arrives and Yitzchak gets on. The seats in front are
full so he goes to the back and sits down heavily, his
thoughts turning again to the same topic until tears appear
in the corner of his eyes. As the bus approaches Jerusalem,
a group of students alight and he is left alone on the bus.
Well, not exactly alone, for one seat away is a Chareidi Jew
with a smiling countenance. Yitzchak turns away and as his
thoughts continue to wander, a deep sigh escapes him.
The Chareidi Jew turns to him in a friendly manner, "Tiring
trip isn't it?" "Not exactly," answers Yitzchak, his anger
rising at the other's attempt to invade his privacy. "Every
Jew has his burdens, doesn't he?" The young man smiles.
Yitzchak looks at him. He feels that the other is speaking
sincerely and not out of banal curiosity.
"True," he answers, still keeping his distance. Something in
the other's manner wins him over. He seems trustworthy.
Suddenly Yitzchak starts to speak. "You certainly don't have
my troubles!" he says emphatically.
"And you don't have mine, either," answers R' Nachum with a
laugh.
"So what's burdening you?" asks Yitzchak curiously.
"You see my shoulders? Do you know the weight they're
carrying?" he says with a trace of humor, "I certainly feel
it! A debt of one million shekels is hanging over me and I
have no way of paying it!"
Yitzchak stares in amazement. "Why, how did that happen?" R'
Nachum tells him the story of the yeshiva he was planning to
build and the debts he had incurred. The yeshiva was in the
midst of construction and the money from donors was arriving
only in small amounts. In the meantime, he had been
borrowing left and right to keep the project going.
"Very strange, very strange indeed," Yitzchak mutters.
"What's so strange?" exclaims R' Nachum.
"It's stranger for me than for you," answers Yitzchak.
"Meaning?" Yitzchak glances around to see that no one is
listening. All the seats around them are empty.
"What's strange," he says in a low voice, "is that you're
walking around with a debt of a million shekels and that
you're in a good mood and I am now traveling to receive a
check for the amount of one million shekels which I won in
the lottery, and I'm totally depressed!"
"The reason I'm walking around relaxed is because I trust
that Hakodosh Baruch Hu will help me in the end. I didn't
take on these debts for myself, but for the sake of the
Torah. But why aren't you happy with your winnings? That's
hard for me to understand!"
"I don't need this money, and I have no one to give the
money to," answers Yitzchak bitterly.
"Have you no relatives?" asks R' Nachum gently.
"I do, I even have two children."
"So?"
"I'm certainly not giving them any money," he says
vehemently.
"Why?" R' Nachum asks with astonishment.
"Because they don't act like children to me and I won't act
to them like a father! They see me as a burden, a relic from
the past... They forgot everything I ever did for them.
They'll never get a cent of this money or of my savings."
"Still, they're your children."
"No, no, they'll never get it from me."
A red light went on in R' Nachum's mind; an arrow was about
to be shot but he held back. He decided to be quiet. "I
won't say a word. Let the idea come from him. I can't ask
anyone to disinherit his children."
A long silence ensued. Suddenly Yitzchak exclaimed, "You
know, I think we're like two halves of a puzzle." R' Nachum
held his breath.
"What would you say if I gave you the winnings from my
lottery ticket?"
R' Nachum had been waiting for this but still he held back
his enthusiasm. "Are you sure? Perhaps you should keep part
of it for your old age?"
"First of all, I have more than enough, and second of all,
I'm certainly not interested in leaving money to the State!"
Yitzchak stopped and then continued, "You're coming with me
to the Lottery office (Mifal Hapayis) to pick up the check
and then we're going to the bank to deposit the money for
your yeshiva, do you hear?"
R' Nachum had no choice but to thank Hashem for the arrow
which did not miss its mark and to thank Yitzchak for his
generosity.
