By Rabbi Nissan Telushkin for COLlive and Hasidic Archives
In Kiev, there was a wealthy Jew who often boasted that he was a “free Jew.” He constantly questioned the customs and observances of the Jewish community.
During the Kiev Pogrom in 1905, when non-Jews brutally attacked the Jewish locals, he was out of town.
When he returned to the city days later, he saw the devastation that the non-Jews wrought upon Jewish properties. He was sure that his home was destroyed as well, and worried deeply about his family.
When he arrived home, he was deeply relieved to see that his home was intact. His children greeted him and told him how they managed to salvage their home.
“We placed a cross in the window, and they skipped our house,” they said excitedly.
The children were certain they would receive accolades, but instead, the “free Jew” was furious. His face turned red as he hollered, “You imposters! Are you not embarrassed before your fellow Jews that you used a cross to save yourselves while they were suffering?”
He took an axe and broke all the furniture. Then, with a knife, he tore the beds and pillows and spread the feathers in the streets.
This man understood the concept of shame. He understood what it meant to be embarrassed before his Jewish neighbors who had suffered at the hands of the gentile community.
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