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163 1. This line, not in the original (1900) publication of the story, was added later. If Not Higher! A Hasidic Story Every morning during the week of Penitential Prayers, the Rebbe of Nemirov would vanish—disappear without a trace! He was nowhere to be seen: not in the synagogue, not in either of the study houses, not in a prayer minyan, and certainly not at home. The front door stood open, and anyone could come or go at will. No one would steal from the Rebbe, though not a living thing stirred at home. Where could the Rebbe be? Where should he be? Up in heaven, of course! Does a rebbe have so little business to take care of up there before the Days of Awe? God save us from the Evil Eye, Jews need sustenance, peace, health, and good matches for their children. Jews want to be good and pious, but many are the sins and Satan—with his thousand eyes—sees from one end of the world to the other, submits complaints, and denounces people. . . . Who should help us, if not the Rebbe? That’s what his disciples thought.1 But once a Litvak came to visit, and he laughed! You know the Litvaks— they look down on books about everyday moral teachings, and they stuff themselves with Talmud and commentaries. So the Litvak points to a clear passage in the Gemarah, he pokes out your eyes with it. He shows that even Moses, in his lifetime, was unable to ascend to heaven—he remained ten hands’ breadths below! Well, go argue with a Litvak! “Then where does the Rebbe go?” the people asked. “How should I know?” answers the Litvak and shrugs his shoulders, but at that moment he decides to find out. What won’t a Litvak do? That very day, soon after evening prayers, the Litvak steals into the Rebbe’s room, crawls under his bed, and lies there. He would wait all night to 164 | I. L. PERETZ 2. This sentence, present in the original printing of the story, was later omitted. see where the Rebbe goes and what he does during the week of Penitential Prayers. Another person might have dozed off and slept away the hours, but a Litvak knows what to do: he studies a complete tractate of the Talmud from memory! I don’t recall whether it was Hulin or Nedarim. At dawn the Litvak hears people being called to Penitential Prayers. The Rebbe has been awake for some time. For almost an hour, the Litvak has heard him groaning. Anyone who has heard the Rebbe of Nemirov groan knows how much anguish , how much sorrow for the people of Israel is contained in each groan. Hearing him groan would break your heart! But a Litvak’s heart is made of stone, so he listens and stays where he is! So does the Rebbe. The Rebbe, long may he live, lies on the bed, and the Litvak lies under the bed. Then the Litvak hears the beds in the house start to creak. . . . He hears people in the house climb out of bed, murmur a few words, pour water over their hands, and open their doors. . . . Next the people leave the house and once again it becomes still and dark. A single ray of light from the moon shines through the shutters. The Litvak later admitted that, when he was all alone with the Rebbe, he became terrified. His skin was crawling with goose bumps from fear. The roots of his forelocks pricked his temples like needles. It was no small matter, being alone with the Rebbe one morning during Penitential Prayers! Who knows what can happen and who might appear?2 But a Litvak is stubborn, so he quivers like a fish in water and stays where he is. Finally the Rebbe, long may he live, gets up. First he does what a Jew must do. . . . Then he goes to the clothes closet and takes out a bundle. Peasants’ clothes appear: canvas pants, oversized boots, a coat, a large fur hat, and a long, wide leather belt with brass rivets. The Rebbe puts it all on. The end of a rough peasant cord peers out from the pocket of the coat. The Rebbe goes out and the Litvak follows! As he passes through the kitchen, the Rebbe bends down and takes an axe from under a bed, sticks it into his belt, and leaves the house. The...

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