Rabbi Chaim Trappe walked along the street in Jerusalem, the Holy City appeared to be a typical religious family. If one looked they would see the determined eyes and full beard and his modestly dressed wife. His children had long golden payos (ear locks) that hung down from their temples. But Rabbi Trappe carried a dark secret that he did not to share with anyone – his father was a nazi war criminal. The rabbi was a ger tzedek (convert).
When Rabbi Trappe was in his early twenties, he discovered that his father had been an SS soldier during World War Il and had participated in many Jewish executions. Rabbi Trappe was so horrified that he fled his parents’ home in Germany.
Haunted by his father’s past, he traveled to Israel, yearning to learn about the nation that his father had so despised. After enrolling in Bar Ilan University where he pursued graduate studies in microbiology, he took some courses in religion which aroused his interest in true Judaism. Eventually, he became a ger tzedek and married a wonderful woman.
The couple had three children — all boys, who knew nothing of their sordid history. “Bubby and Zaidy live far away,” their parents told them. “They’re too old to travel to visit us in Yerushalayim ir haKodesh (Jerusalem the Holy City).” The children had no reason to suspect that their grandparents were not Jewish — and certainly not nazis.
One day, Rabbi Trappe received an unexpected letter in the mail, the return address indicating that it had been sent to him by his father. With shaking hands, he opened the letter, the only communication he’d had with his father in many years. In the letter, the old man informed his son that he was on his deathbed and begged his son to bring his family for a visit so that he could see his grandchildren before he died.
Rabbi Trappe did not know how to react. He had no desire to return to his native country and he dreaded informing his children about their shameful roots. He went to his mentor a holy rabbi for advice who instructed him, “Fulfill your father’s dying request and allow him to see his grandchildren before he leaves this world.”
A few days later found Rabbi Trappe and his family in his father’s home in Germany. Rabbi Trappe could not understand why a man who had tortured, and murdered Jewish children would be interested in seeing his own grandchildren dressed in typical Chassidic clothing. The tension in the room was palpable as Rabbi Trappe ushered in his wife and children. His father lay on the bed, very frail and a shadow of his former self.
As old Mr. Trappe stared at his grandchildren, there was a faraway look in his eyes. He motioned for them to come closer and hugged and kissed each one. Then he cried. When he finally composed himself, he turned to Rabbi Trappe and whispered weakly, “I would like to tell you something that I think you will appreciate.
“One day, during the war years, I was rounding up the men, women, and children of a small village in Bylorussia. We forced them onto trucks which would transport them straight to the gas chambers. Before the trucks pulled away, I accompanied some soldiers to check one last time that we had not missed anyone.
“And that’s when I saw them,” continued the old man, his voice gaining strength. “There were three pairs of dark brown eyes staring at me from underneath a parked truck. Those eyes pleaded with me to save them. For the first and only time during my Nazi service, I was overcome with mercy and I decided to allow the children to remain alive. Turning back, I called out to the other soldiers, ‘Der Platz ist leer! Wir haben sie alle. – The place is empty! We’ve got them all!’
“I have never forgotten their faces,” said the former Nazi, the faraway look returning to his eyes. “They were three little boys with sweet, innocent faces — they looked just like your boys.” Then, after a brief pause, he added, “I truly believe that the reason I have three precious grandchildren is because of the three Jewish children that I saved.”
No matter how evil a person may be, he will still be rewarded for the good that he has done. The Midrash teaches us that even Nevuchadnezzar haRasha, the evil king of Bavel who destroyed the First Beis haMikdash (Holy Temple), was rewarded with three generations of kings because of the three steps he took to honor Hashem’s name (Esther Rabbah 3:1).
May all your tales end with Shalom (peace)
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Tell it to your children, and let your children tell it to their children, and their children to the next generation. (Joel 1:3)