Rubinstein. He sent me to you. Please help me. If you
don’t, I might just as well be dead. My wife’s and my
daughters’ lives are at stake here. I’m desperate for news
about them.”
“So, you were sent by Reb Leizer? It was Reb
Leizer who told you to come here? Well, in that case, I
need to know the names of your wife, her mother, and
your daughters. Do you have any idea of their present
whereabouts?”
Shimon gave him their names and address.
Reb Yitzchok Meyer closed his eyes and cradled his head
in his arms. He remained in this position for a couple of
minutes.
Then he asked Shimon the following: “Tell me,
is your elder daughter about fifteen years old and your
younger daughter twelve. Your wife is not very tall and
has a small scar on the back of her hand?’ When Shimon
replied with a nod, he gave an accurate description of
the room where Shimon had spent those last years in
Russia with his family.
Then he finished by saying, “I’ve got some
good news for you. Your family’s in the process of
packing their bags. They’ve been granted exit visas and
are due to leave tomorrow. You’ll be seeing them before
the week is out.”
Shimon could not believe his ears. He thanked
Reb Yitzchok Meyer for the good news, but all the latter
said was: “Promise me you won’t tell a living soul about
anything you’ve seen and heard here today.”
That very same week Shimon Bogomilsky received
a message saying that he could expect his wife and
children to arrive soon at Lod Airport. The day of their
arrival was the happiest day of his life. When some
time later, he tried to take his wife and children to visit
Reb Yitzchok Meyer, it was as if both the street and the
tzadik had never existed. He searched all the streets in
the neighbourhood again and again, stopping every
passer-by, but nobody had ever heard of him or knew
where he lived. Reb Leizer could not or would not help
him, either.
“You’ve got no business going there. Hasn’t
Reb Yitzchok Meyer done enough for you already?”
There could well be a simple explanation for
his disappearance from the face of the earth. Maybe
he simply moved away. Who can say? There are more
things going on between heaven and earth than we shall
ever know.
The End