Monday, November 09, 2009

Moishele Good Shabbos

Motza'ei Shabbos I went with Tzivia and her family to the Carlebach Yartzheit concert at Binyanei Ha'umah. It was very cute, very nice. And what's a Carlebach concert without a story? So Shlomo Katz came out and told a story from R' Shlomo about Moishele Good Shabbos. Basically this Moishele always spoke in a some niggun, and always said Good Shabbos. R' Shlomo met him when R' Shlomo was a little boy in the shtetel. Later, he met a good friend of Moishele in Tel Aviv, sometime later met Moishele's son Lazar, and Shlomo Katz met his great-grandson at a wedding only a few weeks ago. Very cute, right? Well, When R' Shlomo met the friend in Tel Aviv, this friend told him what happened to Moishele. He was on a train with his family on his way out of Europe with fake British passports, when his wife begged him:

Wife: Moishele, please just keep your mouth shut, and don't say anything, please.
Moishele: But how can I leave this holy place without saying Good Shabbos one more time?

He opens the window and at the top of his lungs sings, "Good Shabbos! Good Shabbos!" in that same niggun. Well, someone recognized him from the "Wanted" posters that the Nazis hung up with his picture on it. He pointed Moishele out to the Nazis and with his dying breath as they beat him in front of his family, he said "Good Shabbos."

Now that's all very nice and sweet and Rabbi Akiva-esque and all, but am I the only one to see the problem? He knows he is wanted by the Nazis, he is almost free from them on his way out, and what does he do? He announces himself to the Nazis. Why? Because he just can't hold himself, he has to yell Good Shabbos to Europe, he just has to. What is wrong with him?! He knows he might die and all, but he has to say Good Shabbos?? Does "v'chai bahem" mean nothing to you??

And worse, they don't just kill him, they beat him to death -- in front of his wife and kids. He couldn't just listen to his wife, no, he had to get himself killed. I don't care how much bitachon he had that HaShem would keep him safe, even Avraham took precautions that he wouldn't die.

What is it that would make him want to do this? That he would not be able to hold himself for a short time? What is it? I have to know.

2 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

hey tony can u help me in anyway to get my hands on that story from shlomo carlebach?? plz contact me asap moshe302@msn.com

Thu Jun 03, 06:58:00 AM 2010  
Blogger Ed said...

last time I didn't listen to my wife I thought I was gonna get beaten to death too

Mon Dec 06, 08:18:00 PM 2010  

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