By Rabbi Yechiel Spero
It had not been expected. Reb Yaakov Tzvi Zusman was a well-respected shochet in the community that is now known as Neve Yaakov on the outskirts of Jerusalem. But one day, without any previous indication of heart trouble, the young man suffered a massive heart attack and died.
His wife, Leah, was devastated and completely overwhelmed by sorrow and her feelings of inadequacy in coping with the daily struggles of survival. Among those who came to console the young widow was the famed saddik of Jerusalem, Reb Aryeh Levine.
He spoke with warmth and sincerity, offering to help in any way, and Leah was extremely grateful but never expected much to come of it. However, the morning after shivah, Reb Aryeh knocked on their door and offered to take the two young boys, the older of whom was six, to shul to recite kaddish in memory of their father.
The children were thrilled to be going to shul with such a kind and famous man and before long settled into a routine where Reb Aryeh would pick up the children early every morning and take them to shul. Incredibly, he did not want the young mother to over-tax herself and so he would also dress the young boys in the morning so that she would be able to take advantage of some extra precious moments of sleep. Binyamin, who was only six years old, will never forget how much he loved walking to shul in the Batei Brodie neighborhood. He would hold Reb Aryeh’s hand and feel secure, knowing that he was being looked after.
One morning Reb Aryeh fell ill and was unable to pick up the boys. In his place he sent Yoel Brand to bring the boys to shul. Reb Yoel arrived at the house on time and managed to get the boys up and out. But halfway down the street, Uri, the younger brother, stopped and refused to walk any further. Binyamin tried his best to convince his younger brother to move on but the little boy was adamant.
Reb Yoel was beginning to question why he had gotten himself into this situation in the first place but reminded himself that he was doing a misvah. He tried every tactic he could think of but nothing was working. The little boy just looked down with a frown on his face and big sad, brown eyes. Reb Yoel felt terrible but he had tried everything and Uri wouldn’t even tell him what was wrong. Exasperated Reb Yoel finally blurted out, “I don’t understand it. You walk when Reb Aryeh picks you up. What’s the problem?”
Uri looked up with tear-filled eyes and, revealing his childish innocence, said, “That’s because every morning when Reb Aryeh picks me up, he carries me on his shoulders.” Reb Yoel smiled. He should have known better. Of course, Reb Aryeh would have figured out how to find his way into this poor child’s heart. He bent down and offered a ride. It was not Reb Aryeh’s piggyback ride – but he took it anyway. (Excerpted from the ArtScroll book – “Touched by a Story”)
Reprinted from the Parshas Vayikra 5785 email of Rabbi David Bibi’s Shabbat Shalom from Cyberspace.
