A Soulful Journey

“Be quiet,” the older man counsels.  “The Czar’s voice must not be lost in the air.  Like a holy bell, it must sound only for a great sorrow or a great celebration.”  (Advice to son listening to the Czar) –Boris Godunov If this is true for the voice of a human, must less a despot, how much harder should we listen to His Word?

“…in Czarist Russia, there lived two Jews who had vowed to remain friends on to death. And so, when one of them was accused of subversive activities, the other hastened to exonerate him by taking the charges upon himself. Of course, they wound up in prison together. The judges were obviously confused: how could they condemn two men for the same crime?  The case attracted the Czar’s attention. He ordered the two Jews brought before and this is what he said to them: ”Don’t worry, I am going to set you free. The reason I asked to see you is that I wished to meet two men capable of such great loyalty. And now,” continued the czar, “I have a favor to ask of you: Take me to your third partner.” Commented the Rabbi of Rizhin: This is the deep and beautiful meeting of the Biblical verse: “When two people love one another, God becomes their partner.” –Elie Wiesel

In Russia, the Czar had absolute power. Once the czar was on an army maneuvers but had to return in the evening for a party. Alas, the bridge was washed away by storm and the Czar could not cross the river. What could be done? Would the Czar then miss his entertainment? Not at all. The order to march was given. Thousands of soldiers burdened with heavy supplies and weapons marched into the river. The current carried many of them to their deaths. Hundreds died, their corpses floated with the current until bodies snagged by the rivers obstacles formed a huge pile, and the Czar drove across the bridge of dead soldiers to his party. As terrible as it was, people saw a king knew what fear was, what fear of judgment was. We have little comprehension of what it means when we call God a "melekh."

I learned many expressions of God's love from my father, of blessed memory.  When my daughter was two, I received a letter from him at his retirement home in Florida. Dearest children: I was two years old (just about Layala's age) and anti-Semitism was rampant in the land of the Czars. First, the cavalry racing through the streets... And the Jews of the town scattering like chaff on the wind. Then the search . Like lightening the new spread and everyone know at once, triggered by fear and a constant tension, which was a way of life.  One day I was snatched by my mother and sister.   My screams were ineffectively stopped with the hand over my mouth.  And so into a cellar by way of a a trapdoor and then into a sub-cellar, my heart pounding like an anvil; and my mother's heart and my sister's heart playing in concert with my own. And then the breaking of chairs and tables, and the drunken cursing of the soldiers sent me into cold spasms of fear.  If I was discove...

Czar Nicholas I was an anti-semite.  He was determined to convert all Jews to Christianity.  One day a young Jewish girl came to plead for her father's life when he was languishing in prison.  A golden statue of Jesus stood on a table.  The Czar paused and then said, "First kiss the groom," pointing to the figure. "There is a Jewish custom," she said,"that the groom must kiss the bride first."

“…which simmered for years and suddenly erupted when the serfs finally realized that the Czar and the Tsar were the same person.”   - Woody Allen It is good to poke fun at our limitations of knowledge.   It brings humility.

It is told of the sage called the Chofetz Chaim that he once had to go to a Czarist official and plead for relief from a particularly harsh decree against the Jewish people. Since the Chofetz Chaim spoke no Russian and the aristocratic official spoke no Yiddish, an interpreter stood waiting. Once permitted to speak, the Chofetz Chaim delivered his message with all the feeling and sincerity that emanated from a heart as pure as his. When he finished, a pregnant silence filled the room. Then the interpreter started to speak: “Your honor, the Jew claims…” Whereupon the Russian official raised his hand and said: “No translation will be necessary. I understood.” As a result of this meeting, the decree was revoked.   - Rabbi Baruch Cohon

A boy is anxious to play marbles saves his pennies to buy a set.    Finally, he purchases a set and finally the boy ends up playing with kids in a large circle. He wins.   And continues to win.   By sunset he was ready to go home with a pocketful of shiny marbles. “Look mom!   I won!” She answers, “Don’t you see?   It’s Shabbes!   Sunset.   Go change.” “Look dad,“ he says.   “Look what I won.” “You are late. Shabbes is here.   Go change,” Finally, the boy sees his grandpa.   He mumbles that he won.   Grandpa responds, “Let’s see.”   He shows his winnings. “That reminds me of a story.   When I was a boy my father worked for the Czar as a woodcutter.   He used to take me to the palace with him.   I saw kids playing marbles there.   They were sons of dukes and lords even the Czar!   I wanted to paly.   So I practiced every day with pebbles.   One day they asked me to join them...

Not so long ago before the Russian revolution, an advisor to the Czar and his general were assassinated.   The assassination was set off by a bomb, which tore through the carriage, slew the horses, and killed the prince.   Some reactions at the time: The Imperial Guard mourned their general.   A coachbuilder bemoaned the destruction of his artistry. The prince’s horses, the finest in Europe, horrified a horseman.   A New York Times reporter wrote, “The old regime is dead; a new order is born.”