Baruch picked up the paper. There was a letter “daled” on it. “Strange,” he thought.
Beis, Reish, Daled… barad? But what could that even mean? What does barad have to do with anything? He hurried down the stairs, not wanting to make Mr. Shpeiter wait. Mr. Shpeiter was dancing. Dancing? “I’ve got it! I’ve got… at least I think I do! Baruch, ah, Thank You Hashem!”
He sang. Baruch came to the bottom of the stairs… and the feeling started again! This was getting out of control! He tried calling to Mr. Shpeiter, but it was too late! He was spinning through the tunnel of music and lights.
He was in a field. It was a beautiful Spring day. He could hear voices, but it seemed there was no one around. He looked around: he saw grass, trees… no people. He then saw caves at the edge of the field. Hmmm…. Baruch tiptoed towards the caves. Inside the caves were Yidden! He could hear them whispering in the silence. “Oy listen, the Cossacks are destroying everything!” “It’s okay; it’s only our things. Let’s daven they don’t find us!” “Mommy, we’ve been here for days! How much longer?” asked a little girl. “Mamale, with Hashem’s help we’ll go home soon, iy”H. For now, let’s keep quiet sheifele.”
Off in the distance, Baruch could hear drunken yelling, flames crackling, and glass smashing. A pogrom! The Cossacks must be destroying the town, and the Yidden all escaped to these caves!
Suddenly, a young man strolled out of the caves. He had a group of a few children behind him. “Come kinderlach, don’t be scared. Today is Lag Ba’omer! Come out, come dance!”
The children, eager for some action, slowly snuck out of the caves. “Yisroel’ke! What are you doing?!” Someone whispered. Yisroelke, the young man, answered, and there was something very heilig about him Baruch noticed. “Today is Lag Ba’omer. In the world of Rabbi Shimon, there is only simchah. You will see. You will see.” Yisroelke grabbed the hands of the children and softly sang, “Bar Yochai nimshachta, ashrecha…” Soon the children were singing along louder and louder, until they were dancing! He handed some cake and drinks to the children, with a supernatural glow on his face.
“Yisroel’ke is glowing!” said one of the parents. “I always thought he was such a simple Yid!” This is Reb Eliezer’s son, no? We must have underestimated him! I’ve never seen anything like this in my life!” Off in the distance, screams shattered the moment. They sounded like frightened Cossacks. “Ruuuuun!!!!! The police are coming! Leave their things! Just ruuuuuun!” The Yidden shared shocked looks. They could hear hoofbeats and running feet heading… the other way! The dancing and singing b’zchus Rabbi Shimon had surely made a miracle! Baruch looked around, but Yisroel’ke… had disappeared. Baruch had a strange thought. Could this Yisroel’ke be… Reb Yisroel Baal Shem? The heiligeh Baal Shem Tov? This must be before the world knew of the Tzadik. Baruch felt that feeling again. He began to spin back through time.
Baruch landed back in the basement. Mr. Shpeiter was still dancing. On the floor was a note. “Um, Mr. Shpeiter, can we talk?” said Baruch.
To be continued…
This article was found in Nekuda Tova Issue 35 Lag Ba’omer Edition.