The hoodlum, whoever he was, had given it away. Amalek means one thing: no excitement for Yiddishkeit, Baruch thought.
Baruch remembered a story his Rebbe had told him, about the heiligeh Baal Shem Tov. It made him smile. Yankel was the vassertrugger, the water carrier for the village. One morning, he passed by the Baal Shem Tov’s house with a big frown on his face. The Tzadik asked him what was the matter. “Oy! I’m not as young as I used to be, and my knees hurt. More and more people keep moving into the village, and it takes me triple the time to deliver their water. By the time I’m done with my morning route, I’ve basically got to start again! What do you mean ‘what’s the matter’?” The Baal Shem Tov nodded, and said,”That does sound hard.” Yankel trudged away.
The next morning Yankel passed by again, with a spring in his step. “How are you Yankel? The Baal Shem Tov asked. “Rebbe, what a great day to be alive! I have parnassah, and the ability to help Yidden stay healthy by bringing them water to wash, drink and bathe. I have wonderful neighbors, a nice community.. Ah… What do you mean ‘How are you?’ Thank You Hashem!” Yankel continued up the street once more.
The students of the Baal Shem Tov were perplexed. Was that the same vassertrugger as yesterday?
As if sensing their question, the Baal Shem Tov said, “You see, nothing changed. Yankel did the same job he did yesterday, but today… he chose to be happy. That’s all that changed.”
Baruch opened his eyes. Amalek would try to make him see the negative, be upset, and shlep the good energy out of everything – that’s what Amalek does, he thought – he “cools down” the feelings of Yidden. Baruch smiled. But Amalek did not know what he was up against. He was up against Baruch the Yid. Baruch would choose to be happy. He would choose the way of emunah and bitachon. And im yirtzeh Hashem, he would get to the bottom of this whole situation!
He looked down. There. A brand new envelope. And a brand new clue.
To be continued…
This article was found in Nekuda Tova Issue 28.