Baruch didn’t know how long he was davening for. He suddenly heard a thump.
Baruch looked up, startled. A soft, niggun was playing, and there was someone standing in front of him. “Mr. Shpeiter!” he called out. But who was standing next to him? “Baruch, Baruch, you did it! You did it!” Baruch was confused. “You helped me catch this scoundrel!” Mr. Shpeiter walked the other man to the corner, where laser beams were suddenly activated, forming a cage around the man.
“Mr. Shpeiter, please explain! What’s going on?” Baruch exclaimed. Mr. Shpeiter walked over to the crock pot in the middle of the room. “Hungry, Baruch?” He scooped out a ladle full and pushed the bowl to Baruch without waiting for an answer. “We won’t be needing this for a while.”
The two of them sat down on folding chairs near the crock pot. “Let me start at the beginning. This man here didn’t like the emunah and bitachon generated by this machine. You see, stories of Tzadikim inspire us and increase our emunah in Hashem. His name is Aggagi, and the thing he hates most in this world is a warm, happy Yiddishe heart. He likes to cool off Jewish hearts, make them negative and sad, just like his grandfather, Haman and the rest of his family.”
“Ah, that’s the guy! And his license plate said Amalek!” said Baruch. “Oh yes, he is very proud of his rotten yichus,” smiled Mr Shpeiter.
“One night he came and broke off a piece of the Time Machine. You saw that, no?” Baruch nodded.
“I had anticipated his attack, because he’s a bit predictable, as you’ll see,” winked Mr Shpeiter. “So, I went back in time to stop him. But I only did it with your help!” Baruch was listening – this was making a lot of sense and none at all at the same time.
“After you fixed the machine only a few moments ago, I went back in time and followed him around. It’s complicated,” said Mr. Shpeiter at Baruch’s shocked expression. “I was the one who dropped the notes for you, as I chased him down. But your emunah, along the way weakened him, and your tefillah – that’s what totally broke him. I found him sleeping only a few blocks from here. I brought him back, and he’ll stay in the corner for time- out for a little while,” smiled Mr Shpeiter.
“Your tefillah took your emunah – knowledge of Hashem, to the next level – bitachon. Bitachon is when you take action based on your emunah, instead of it just being something you think about. That’s a death blow to Amalek. He just can’t stand it!”
“Things were starting to click,” Baruch mused as he licked his spoon. It was mind-whirling stuff, but it was making sense. “What niggun was that?” Baruch asked.
“Ah, The time machine niggun? That was the niggun of Reb Yitzchok Isaac of Kalev! You heard it at your Bubbe’s house, no? It’s a niggun of pure tefillah like you displayed today. Pure, raw, real tefillah. That’s the real secret. The real secret…” Mr Shpeiter trailed off.
Well Baruch I think you should get going. It’s getting late…um… early! You’ve been up all night and you’ll be late for school! Mr. Shpeiter got up and powered down the machine. I think we’ll take a break from this for a bit,” he said. “But we’ll be back at it in NO TIME!”
THE END,
OF SEASON 1.
This article was found in Nekuda Tova Issue 30.