Baruch was spinning fast, slightly worried. Hearing about those dogs had made him nervous. He was glad to be spinning away from them! He hoped there weren’t any more on the other end of the Time Tunnel. He landed with a thump on hard asphalt.
He looked around. He recognized this place! The end of a long cul-de-sac, apartment buildings lining the sides, and a home with a staircase at the far end. The street was busy—people walking, most with hats and black suit jackets, many holding seforim under their arms. Baruch looked up at the sign to double-check. This was it: Rechov Rashbam, the home of the Rebbe of Klal Yisrael, Rav Chaim Kanievsky! Breathing in the hot, yet fresh and rejuvenating Bnei Brak air, Baruch passed the famed Lederman’s Shul on his left and leapt onto the white staircase leading to the house.
A young boy with bushy peyos knocked, kissed the mezuzah, and entered. Baruch slipped in behind him. The house was full of seforim—lining the hallway, around the bend, and down the next corridor. He recognized copies of Kehillos Yaakov, the seforim of the Steipler, Rav Chaim’s father. It was quiet, unlike the bustle he remembered from his visit to Eretz Yisrael years before. Suddenly, someone burst out of a room in a hurry. Baruch followed him into a small kitchen, where the man grabbed wine and cake and dashed back. Inside the room was Rav Chaim, sitting on the edge of his bed, having just washed his hands with a bowl and cup on the floor. Rav Chaim thanked the man, saying “Mazel Tov!” He made a brachah, took some wine and cake, and encouraged everyone to do the same.
“Zeide!” someone asked, “What is this for?” Rav Chaim replied, “A siyum!” The room responded with surprise—“But Zeide finishes masechtos all the time! Why now and here?” Rav Chaim smiled and explained, “Well, I just finished the masechta. I just finished Brachos!” The people looked confused. “I reviewed the whole masechta in my sleep,” he said simply. Baruch could hardly breathe. Had he heard correctly? “When you do chazarah, you know it so well that you dream in Torah!” someone added. But Rav Chaim didn’t act like he had said anything surprising—just that he had reviewed an entire masechta during a nap.
Baruch watched as Rav Chaim put on his frock and made his way into another room, also full of seforim, where his shtender waited. He leaned over and began to learn. Baruch stood in awe. Then he looked down and noticed a piece of paper on the floor. There was a letter ayin on it. And suddenly, with a jolt, Baruch began to spin. He hoped… he was going home!
to be continued…
This article was found in Nekuda Tova Issue 40.