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...
