The Holy Bulbs
He used to hint to us deep concepts from mundane things, such as fluorescent bulbs. He claimed that they were invented because first they were round and that couldn’t last well and so they made them long. When we did not understand, he said, “They were round, igulim, and they broke, shevirah. Afterwards they made them straight, yoshor – and that was the tikkun!” He didn’t explain further; those who understood, understood.
The Bridge of Life
He pointed to a bridge and explained that it was invented to allow a person to travel over from one location to another safely, the bridge above, the churning waters of his tzoros below, transporting him to safety so that he would come to no harm. So too can we traverse life’s tzoros safely by crossing on a bridge.
Regarding such inventions and innovations of ruchniyus, he simply claimed them as his own – “Mein patent!” We later understood that he himself traversed life on such a bridge. He had no family, no life, no identity, nothing independent – we didn’t even know his last name at the time. He was the one crossing life using that bridge. It was his patent to make it across safely.
He knew all seventy languages. We saw him speaking Chinese to the Chinese and my friend once had an entire conversation with him in French. When he was sick he complained in the hospital that perhaps he was being punished for studying languages and other secular subjects in his youth. Afterwards, he consoled himself that Mordechai haTzaddik had known all seventy languages and had used it to help Jews and so would he, during the war years, help Klal Yisrael, using his knowledge of foreign languages.
The doctor asked me if I thought Reb Moshe was crazy. When I shook my head and said no, he replied, “You are right – he isn’t crazy; he is a genius!”
When they tried to give him intravenous medicine, he refused without being allowed to read the prescription. The doctor laughed to himself and agreed. What could this old Jew know about these technical medical terms? he thought. “Isn’t this ingredient non-kosher? Doesn’t it come from pork?” he asked after reading them through. “I myself didn’t know,” admitted the doctor, “and after looking it up I agreed with him” – it was in fact treif!
Throughout his life he refused medicines, doctors, and treatments, living to the ripe old age of ninety, healthy and strong.
