Take Me Back With You
"Before you left, you gave me your solemn promise that you will return. I'm familiar with the train schedule, so whenever a train arrives I stand here and...
I recently heard a very beautiful story that I would like to share with our readers. Before the fall of the Iron Curtain, it was common for the government to move individuals from one side of the USSR to the other, without giving a thought as to how they were disrupting their personal lives. One of the Lubavitcher rebbetzins received notification that she was to leave her home and relocate to a city that was a three day train journey to the east.
With tear-filled eyes, she took leave of her young, not yet bar-mitzvah age son, and, leaving everything dear behind, she set out to her new home. Before boarding the train, she promised her beloved child that she would somehow manage to return to take him back with her, to her new home in the east.
The Rebbetzin worked around the clock so that she could put aside a few coins each week toward the train fare in order to bring her only son to her new home.
For three long years the Rebbetzin worked and dreamed of the moment she would alight from the train and walk up the path of her old home to see her beloved son. Finally, the day came that she had put aside enough money to purchase a ticket. A few days later she boarded a train, this time traveling westward, to her beloved child.
The Rebbetzin stared out the train window without looking at the scenery. She tried to picture what her son must look like. Had he sprouted the beginnings of a beard? Would she recognize him? Would he remember her? She fluctuated between excitement and joy at the thought of seeing her child, and nervousness about their meeting and getting reacquainted. Perhaps he had left the city. After all, she had no way of informing him of her visit.
Finally, the train arrived. She looked around the station, half expecting her son to be there, but of course, he wasn’t. Then, she started walking away from the station, along familiar streets of her home town, toward what had once been her home. From afar, she noticed a young man staring toward the train station, as if expecting someone to momentarily appear. Yes, it was her beloved son! He was waiting for her.
After the initial excitement of their reunion, the Rebbetzin asked, “How did you know to expect me today?”
“I didn’t,” he replied.
“Then why were you standing there? You looked as if you were waiting for someone,” she continued.
“Before you left, you gave me your solemn promise that you will return. I’m familiar with the train schedule, so whenever a train arrives I stand here and wait for you. I knew that you would come to take me back with you.”
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Hashem promised us that He will send Mashiach to bring us out of this Exile. But we have to wait for him. We have to expect him to come at any moment b’khol yom sh’yavo.
May it happen soon, and in our days mamash. Amen.
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