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#568 (s5769-03 / 13 Tishrei 5769) Over the Shoulder Whenever they played "King, Soldiers and Peasants," young Yaakov Yitzchak of Pesischa refused to let them appoint him as king. Over the Shoulder
Young Yaakov Yitzchak (later to be famous as "the Holy Jew of Peshischa") seemed to be like any other boy his own age. His teachers and his friends in the cheder (elementary yeshiva) where he learned saw nothing in him that was different from most of the other boys. He had as much "fear of Heaven" as any other Jewish child in those days. His desire to learn Torah was no less than that of the others, and so was his success in learning. Except for one thing -- once he learned something, he never forgot it, even after a long time, even if he had learned something else in between. Moreover, once he learned and understood something, he knew it clearly and perfectly - - so well, in fact, that he could explain it to others better than anyone else could. Still, Yaakov Yitzchak was no better than a good student; he wasn't even among the top three in his class. Yaakov Yitzchak also was a healthy boy and much stronger than any of his friends. Whenever they played "King, Soldiers and Peasants," the other boys wanted to make him king and the leader of all of them. To be sure, one didn't become King among the children unless one was very strong, strong enough not to be afraid of anyone, even the gentile boys. And although Yaakov Yitzchak refused to be King and the boys had already appointed another boy to be the king over them, they all knew his strength and were afraid of him. Not that Yaakov Yitzchak tried to frighten the boys with this strength; it is doubtful if he ever raised a hand against another child. But if one boy would start a fight with a weaker boy, Yaakov Yitzchak would just have to say "leave him alone!" and there would be no fight. Once, on the first day of Chol Hamoed Sukkot, his father sent Yaakov Yitzchak to take the etrog and lulav to a widow, a relative of theirs, for her to make the blessings over them. The widow lived on the other side of town, and Yaakov Yitzchak had to walk through a street where many gentile boys often made trouble for any Jew they chanced to meet. When Yaakov Yitzchak reached that street with the etrog and lulav in his hand, the gentile boys decided to make fun of the Jewish boy and what he carried. One of them -- Ivan, their leader -- jumped on him from behind and grabbed the lulav from his hand. The other gentile boys laughed at this fine sport. Yaakov Yitzchak became very angry. He put the etrog in his pocket and chased Ivan until he grabbed him. Ivan also became very angry -- what nerve this Jewish boy had to chase him and take hold of him! Ivan raised the lulav which he held in his hand, as if to strike Yaakov Yitzchak on the head with it. Yaakov Yitzchak's quickly realized, "If he hits me with the lulav, he'll break it and we won't be able to use it anymore. And if we fight, the pitam (protruding tip) of the etrog in my pocket will break, too. I must think of something…." "Hey Ivan!" Yaakov Yitzchak shouted to the gentile boy. "Is that how you show how strong you are -- you with a stick against me with my bare hands?! I'll tell you what: you put the stick near that wall over there and I'll put what I have in my pocket over there, and then we'll see who is stronger than whom!" This challenge touched Ivan's pride and he agreed to the terms. As soon as the lulav and etrog were safe near the wall, Yaakov Yitzchak bent his head low and rushed at Ivan's knees. Ivan was a tall boy and as Yaakov Yitzchak hit his knees and quickly straightened up, he sent Ivan flying over his back, landing with his face in the mud. Ivan lay there, dazed, unable to get up right away. Ivan's friends, who watched from a distance, thought that their leader was dead and they decided to avenge themselves on this Jewish "murderer." When Yaakov Yitzchak saw them rushing toward him, he picked up Ivan by his feet and began swinging him around in a circle, like someone who swings a bolero, a rope with a rock tied to the end of it. Nothing happened to Ivan, except that he became more dizzy and disoriented, and also frightened by the cries of his friends, who now fled in all directions. Yaakov Yitzchak then put Ivan down. The dizzy bully crossed himself and ran off as fast as his shaky legs could carry him. Yaakov Yitzchak picked up the etrog and lulav and went on his way to the widow's home. On his way back, none of the gentile boys were to be seen on that street. Yaakov Yitzchak himself told no one what happened to him. But the story soon got around, when the gentile boys told their parents what the boy with the strange branch and fruit did to them, and their parents told it to the Jewish merchants in the market place. No one could believe that the little Yaakov Yitzchak could do such a thing. Only the children, Yaakov Yitzchak's friends, believed the story. But whenever they would ask him what really happened between him and the gentile boys, he would just answer, "Oh, you can't believe the stories they tell…." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Biographical note: ~~~~~~~~~~~
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Yerachmiel
Tilles is co-founder and associate director of Ascent-of-Safed, and chief editor
of this website (and of KabbalaOnline.org). He has hundreds of published stories
to his credit, and many have been translated into other languages. He tells
them live at Ascent nearly every Saturday night.