Ribnitz! Baruch looked around. Everything around him had a grey foggy tinge to it. There was snow on the ground. Baruch thanked Hashem for his warm winter coat that he was still wearing after all that spinning. Men walked around wearing big furry hats that covered their ears. What was he supposed to do? He looked up at the house in front of him. Was there something to see in there? Suddenly a man, looking slightly nervous, looked around – and looked straight at him – NO… THROUGH HIM? The man looked like he didn’t want to be seen, and yet, Baruch standing right there didn’t bother him in the least. “Strange,” thought Baruch, “did he not see me?” The man darted into the building. Curious, Baruch followed the man. Maybe the machine dropped him off here on purpose. The door closed behind him, and there at the head of the table was… could it be? The Ribnitzer Rebbe! It couldn’t be. This was for real! The rebbe’s face was ablaze with kedushah. The man who snuck in, locked the door. Baruch was in a secret Torah shiur! Just like in the times of Chanukah, in Soviet Moldova, Torah had be learned in secret so the…
Someone pounded on the door. Everyone scattered, out windows, behind couches. Only the Ribnitzer and Baruch didn’t move. The door burst open and three burly, angry KGB agents rushed in. The Rebbe looked calmly at the officers, he didn’t seem scared at all. The biggest of the three barked at the other agents, “You wait outside, I’ll deal with the Ravvin (Rabbi)!” Then he turned to the Rebbe. Baruch was terrified at what might happen next – but he realized the officer wasn’t aware he was there. So strange! “You’re running a Jewish learning center here! I should lock you up! How dare you!” The Rebbe didn’t flinch. “However,” said the man, “I’ll make you a deal. I know who you are. They say you can make miracles. My daughter is blind; if you can heal her, I will drop the case against you, and you won’t have any trouble from KGB. If not… it’s straight to Siberia for you!”
The Rebbe, still calm, said, “Bring me your daughter.” The officer turned on his heels and made a big show of slamming the door. The officers left. The Rebbe turned immediately back to his sefarim as if all was fine. A short while later, the officer returned with his daughter. Baruch held his breath. The girl sat down at the table. The Rebbe took a handkerchief and waved it in front of the girl’s eyes. “She can see,” said the Ribnitzer. The girl shrieked, her eyes open wide. She turned her head every which way – she could see! The officer was in shock. Thank you Ravvin, thank you! There will be no trouble at all. None. I promise.” The man staggered out of the door clutching his daughter. Baruch had never seen any nissim like this, and the mesiras nefesh of the Rebbe to teach Torah under penalty of death… he could feel Chanukah energy running through his veins. What a zechus! Was this real? But before he could think about it more, he began to spin. Through the tunnel he spun faster and faster; this was turning out to be quite the day… and was that cholent he smelled?
To be continued…
This article was found in Nekuda Tova Issue 19.