The Rabbi Who Tricked Stalin

by Mordechai Landsberg

Tall Aliosha and Rabbi Aaron were waiting in the asylum’s Reception Hall, which had been emptied of visitors or strolling staff. Aliosha loaded the medium sized “back bag” on the desk of the reception clerk. Out of it was oozing the Psalms book, brought to the Rabbi not long before by Mendelevich. . . While the Rabbi was even alone in his room, he would turn the pages very fastly, and mumble toward it. That would refute any sign of a regular reading or praying, in case that some sophisticated inspector pushes his nose there and inquire - how a mad and dumb could use a book properly. . .

  The woman clerk gazed at Rabbi, and asked Aliosha for who they were waiting. Suddenly appeared at the main door stranger, with a black shaded cap hat, brown coat, high-brown boots and “Gallaphey” grey trousers (for horse riding, but also worn by high ranked officials at those days). He approached the reception desk and tapped Aliosha on his shoulder.

  Aliosha turned to him, and the two were gazing at each other.

  “I’m Slutskin,” said the man, “from The Commissariat of Foreign affairs. Comrade Aliosha?”

  The Tall fellow nodded, and both shook hands. The comer tapped on the Rabbi’s left arm, in a friendly manner. Rabbi Aaron did not return a gaze to him, though the man tried to hunt his smile.

  “I am pleased,” he said to Aliosha, “to provide you the relevant documents for the deportation. This Rabbi should leave our country within forty eight hours. It’s a short time, but that’s the order.”

  He handed the documents to Aliosha.

  “What about his son?” asked Aliosha, and the Rabbi’s heart jumped from joy, as this was a second approval that Raf’l had been alive.

  “The boy will wait for you tomorrow in Minsk, at noon time. He will be in the Rabbi’s house: Labor Day First May street, number eleven. I’ve received confirmation for that by telegraph...’

  “Only these two are ordered to be deported?” asked Aliosha. He looked at Rabbi’s nose, which became red and at his terrified eyes. Rabbi Aaron glanced desperately at Aliosha, but immediately tried to be recover; he grabbed the reception window’s sill, and remained standing firmly. Aliosha departed from the Foreign ministry high official, and took Aaron by foot to the train station.

  Meanwhile the Welfare department representative, comrade Davidovna, travelled to the boy’s boarding school. When Raphael saw her, he understood that an irregular event had caused her rush to him. She spoke with his teacher and showed him the Document of Release. Then she took the boy by his reins – to the long building, where the boys aged ‘seven up to eleven’ were dwelling.

  Soon she found his little private bag with his poor personal belongings, and pushed him forward to wait for the bus, that would take them to the center of Minsk. From there they walked to Blooma’s hut, knowing that Natalya would be missing from home, travelling around in the area, visiting children and searching for new suffering families. Davidovna left Raphael with Blooma.

  At four in the afternoon Natalya came back home. She saw Blooma with her little son and with Raphael - waiting for her. Her heart pounded, feeling that something important had happened. She kissed the boy. Tears flickered in her eyes, while he told her:

  “Papa is going to be released from asylum. Davidovna told me. She had just left.”

  “I received a telegram about that,” said Natalya to Blooma, “But they had not mentioned if we will be allowed to leave the country. Maybe they want to leave him with us for a long time, and make us suffer as in the past. What if they insist, that the Rabbi has a partial insanity – so that I will have to take care of him? But I must work to make a living. . . I can’t understand that. I am still suspicious about their motive and about the whole story.”

  “I am more hopeful than you,” said Blooma, “They still think him to be mad. But I guess that’s the end of his troubles - if he had been allowed to meet his son and wife. You and Raf’l will be taken with the Rabbi to some port or to a border’s train station, in Poland or Germany. From there you are said to go to United States, don’t you see?”

  Blooma was seemingly a simple woman– even a kind of primitively thinking. But her instinct told her, that maybe only Rabbi Aaron and his son would get the privilege to leave the Soviet Union. Therefore she was very cautious not to hurt Natalya’s spirit, suggesting that “when Rabbi arrives here, at his home, you and Raphael should restrain yourself. Don’t show much joy regarding this meeting, as all that is controlled by Gepau. Rabbi will be escorted by someone, so I understand.”

  Tall Aliosha, carrying the travel-backbag, opened Rabbi Aaron’s hut by the key that he had carried with him for long. Rabbi Aaron entered first, and after both he and Aliosha had passed the corridor - the escort released the Rabbi’s chained right hand from his left hand. Aliosha put the chain into the back-bag, and discerned that nobody had been in the hut.. He was talking – like to to himself, and by that had shown his anexiety to the Rabbi:

  “I wonder. Natalya, Raf’l and the caretaker should have already been waiting here… To the best of my knowledge…”

  He indicated Rabbi Aaron to be seated at the kitchen’s table. As the Rabbi took his seat, Aliosha discerned a note on the table. It was addressed to him, and included a few sentences written by a thick pencil. He began reading it loudly:

  “Warm Welcome to Rabbi Aaron and to his Escort! Sorry that my baby has got diarrhoea, so I have to remain with him and with Raf’l at my home for more 15-20 minutes. Natalya has not arrived yet. I hope she would not be detained by a violent family, which she was said to visit today. Blooma.”

  Aliosha looked at the pendulum clock on the wall- and saw that its hands had stopped on 12.00.

  ‘Curse this old instrrument.’ Aliosha thought, becoming irritated, ‘What can I do? I don’t have a watch, which is very expensive. Gepau has supplied that stuff only for Chiefs like Antonov. We shall lose our train of two fifty a.m. Feeeuuuuu. I will be severly punished!’

  He looked at Rabbi Aaron and at the chain, that he had put before in the bag. He took it in his hand, but did not lock it again to the Rabbi’s wrists.

  “I’ll run to Blooma and see what happens,” he said to the Rabbi, “Wait., Rabbi. Don’t move. At least nod, to let me know you understand, Jesus!” But the Rabbi refrained to show any sign.

  Aliosha locked the hut front door, walking outside, on his way to Blooma’s hut. Rabbi Aaron seemingly remained alone there...

  However, somebody’s cautious steps were heard, walking from the Rabbi’s dark bedroom toward the corridor. The Rabbi was scared from the steps’ sound, turned his head back and saw Natalya.

  She rushed to the kitchen and had already arrived very close to him.

  He rose from his seat. His face became pale undr his beard, and his body remained frozen in his place - while she embraced him, and said very excitedly:

  “My love, I am here. Speak to me, show me that you understand my words.”

  Rabbi Aaron’s lips shuddered, and he could not restrain himself from talking:

  “If they fine..find, that I am really sane... Swear you are not a spy of Gepau, darling. …oh, my dear sweetheart. . .I am mad. I suspect everybody around, It can’t be…”

  They embraced and kissed fervently. But soon he seemed to be returning to the hard reality and retreated from her.

  “The Gepaunik will return soon, in a minute. I should not show him that I’m sane.”

  “Don’t say crazy things to me, my love. I have arranged this meeting - by Blooma’s help...She will delay the guy for some minutes. He will play with the children, I hope.. . .”

  “Is it a reality or a dream?” gasped Rabbi Aaron, “How should I thank you, my love - for the goodness that you had bestowed on me? You’ve suffered so much because of me.”

  “I love you for my own sake, Aaron...And it was not me, who succeeded to get you out of there.”

  “I have done wrong to you, Natalya. By loving you- and leaving you such a long period. Please, forgive me for my wandering.
But you should know- it was pure and sacred!”

  “Please, say you love me now… On the way to leave this cursed country…”

  “I understand that I still have to pretend,” he said.

  “Well, continue…” she said, “I understand that.”

  “I am afraid that I’ve put you in a catch, my dear. My escort has just told me in the train - something terrible. Only myself and the boy are allowed to leave Russia. . . What. . . shall I do now, what?”

  He broke in whimping and then in a long sob.

  “What?” screame Natalya, and he put his finger on his lips to calm her down, being afraid that his escort Aliosha might soon return.

  “It cannot be that. . .God has made this,” said Natalya very severely, but in a moderate tone, “You know well: If we disconnect now, we will never be able to unite again!”- she was sobbing, and her eyes were burning. She murmured a furious sentence: “I will.. . slander you to Gepau. I’ll tell – that you . . .have lied to them. They will revenge you for lying, to me also! To me, the woman who loved you so much, and…!”

  He wiped his eyes and glasses, then turned to the window, to miss her beloved face that became full of hatred .

  “I can’t believe...that you have ever thought of... leaving me here. Me, who along the recent year had been torn by doubts if you had really become mad. . .I was ready to go with you - even maddened!”

  “You are right in whatever you say, my darling. God will never forgive me. The authorities had decided to tear us down. I will request afterward - a family unification. But first let me be out of this hell.”

  “You forsake me, Aaron. In the asylum –you had hinted to me, that you were sane; but you had not relied on me, from the beginning. You had not revealed to me your mad plot – before your hospitalization. You had been afraid, that I would oppose your idea to pretend mad. I oppose it now!”

  “My darling, can we expose my fraud now? …They will throw me to jail... or kill me. Is it better for you?” She was looking at him very sternly and wondered how she could stand all that.

  “God had made it, that we must depart now!” he said.

  “I have no one in Russia,” Natalya said, “I could have trusted no one like I had trusted you. . . . . I had to know, that always I had not been as important to you…as your freedom to worship God. That is your extreme, erroneous belief.”

  “I know, but don’t slander me to Satan,” he begged, with a hope that he would regain her pity, because of his helplessness.

  “You are not a true God believer, Aaron! You doubt God’s ability to bring back and receive those who repent, like me. Therefore you forsake me. God will curse you. No. . . Forgive me…”

  She was weeping bitterly, and heard him saying:

  “I forgive you. I have to be shot dead.”

  “I shouldn’t have come here it all. . .” she cried, as to herself.

  Then Natalya wiped her tears, and rushed to the front door. She opened it and viewed the courtyard. She left him and was running out of his house toward Blooma’s hut.

  Staying at the gate, she saw Blooma, Raphael and Aliosha approaching her. She shook her head the to right and left, and Blooma understood that she had been helpless.

  “I am sorry,” Aliosha spoke directly, after they shook hands, “that there is no possibility for you to leave together with the Rabbi and Raf’l.”

  “Why?” she shouted on him, “for what reason? Do you know?”

  “Comrade Besarobina,” said Aliosha, “this is the order that I have.. . You should remain here, in our land. You need patience.”

  All the group entered the gate and approached the hut’s entry door.

  Half an hour before that – Antonov was seated in his office, and received a telegram from his Headquarters in Moscow. He rose up and read loudly to his deputy what had been stated there:

  “The delay of Natalya Besarobina’s expel from Russia is cancelled. That is due to a mistake, made by our Foreign Affairs delegate in the League of Nations in Geneve. He had sneaked information to the media without our permission.”

  “What was wrong in that publication in Geneve?” asked the Gepau deputy Vronsky.

  “Our stupid delegate organized a Press Conference too early. He praised our Leader Stalin, for his humanitarian attitude, allowing the crazy Rabbi and his invalid son to reach the U.S...But the Rabbi’s American sister gathered newspapermen, and scolded us. She asked why was not the Rabbi’s wife mentioned- and caused a scandal.”

  “How did his sister know that?” Vronsky asked Antonov.

  “Our men abroad had to bluff everybody, that the whole family would leave Russia. But they stammered - when asked about his wife... So, Stalin has ordered to expel the wife too.”

  “Foolish Mishkin- our Geneve’s delegate…” said Vronsky.

  “No more. He was called to Stalin, who’ll send him to the Siberian Taiga.”

  “Where is Aliosha now? ” asked Vronsky.

  “In the Rabbi’s house, I presume. Packing and preparing to leave with the Rabbi and the boy. I will rush there with Dwarf Avrum.”

  “Hopefully the lady is there,” Vronsky smiled ironically, “Hopefuilly she had not gone mad herself, by thinking she would remain here alone.”

  CHAPTER 47