In a little town near Cologne, Germany, in the home of the
deceased R' Yechiel, a strange quiet reigned. It seemed that
the family was fast asleep. Actually, all were sleeping
except for the young widow, wife of the righteous R' Yechiel,
and mother of eight little orphans. The sudden death of the
head of the family left them in a dire situation and the
mother felt lost and helpless without her late husband. It
was difficult to get used to a Shabbos table without her
beloved husband, and now, after the Shabbos meal, she sat by
the table, gazing at the lit candles, as sleep eluded her.
The financial burdens and the responsibilities of the
chinuch of her brood prevented her from the very much
needed rest. In the quiet of the house, she sat, staring at
flickering candles, thinking the sad thoughts of a widow,
determined, nonetheless, not to lose hope.
"My children are my pleasure," she thought. "Chaim, my oldest
son, is so mature; I can always rely upon his help. And
little Asher, the youngest, is so bright. I am sure he will
grow up to be a prominent Torah scholar like his father
zt'l." These thoughts calmed her and she found herself
drifting off into a restless sleep in the growing darkness of
the room. But it wasn't the peacefulness of a blessed sleep
she had been used to in the past, and she kept waking up.
Suddenly, she heard a noise; it sounded as if someone had
entered the house. She looked up and saw her husband standing
nearby. He had created the noise to awaken her. Petrified,
she could only pray in her heart, "Please, Hashem, help me
keep my sanity! I need all of my faculties to raise my little
orphans."
As though in answer to her prayers, the figure of her husband
began to speak. He spoke quietly, but she heard every word.
"I received permission to come here tonight. I came to warn
you," he said. "This town is doomed to be destroyed but I was
sent here to save you and the children. Hurry! Wake everyone
up and flee as quickly as you can. Find a hiding place
somewhere."
His words of warning sounded very real but she still couldn't
be sure if she was dreaming or not.
She stood up and looked around; there was no one in the room.
She tried to ignore the warning and closed her eyes, trying
to fall asleep again. But R' Yechiel appeared once more, and
again voiced his warning.
"Lock up the house and take the children to safety. You must
hurry!"
This time she could no longer ignore the warning. She woke up
her oldest son Chaim, who was studying in the yeshiva of the
Maharam of Rotenberg. Chaim came as often as he could to help
his mother and encourage her. Together, they planned their
escape to the safest but furthest point still within the
eiruv.
Within a short time, the family was warmly dressed, walking
silently and briskly into the dark, cold night. They headed
for a gentile neighborhood where the family laundress lived.
The little children were frightened, and Chaim and his mother
talked to them softly until they finally arrived at their
destination.
No one answered their knocking. They tried again and again,
knocking on all the windows and doors. After what seemed like
a very long time, the launderess opened the door and
reluctantly bedded them down for the night.
They tried to go back to sleep but suddenly, from the
distance, they heard shouts of violence. Bandits had attacked
the Jewish quarter of the town and soon the wild yelling was
mingled with the weeping and pleading of the helpless Jews.
Although R' Yechiel's family was safe, their hearts went out
for their fellow Jews whom Heaven had decreed must suffer.
*
The mother was successful in raising fine children and
encouraging them to study Torah diligently. Years later, the
youngest son, Asher, became the eminent ROSH, one of the
famous Baalei HaTosfos.
The Rosh was also eventually forced to flee from Germany and
settled in Spain. There he produced his great works, and the
great R' Yosef Karo in particular was greatly aided by
them.
The son of the Rosh, grandson of R' Yechiel, was the eminent
R' Yaakov Baal Haturim. With historic hindsight, it is no
wonder that R' Yechiel was sent to warn his family and save
these great [future] tzaddikim for the sake of Klal
Yisroel.
