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Une Ménorah … familiale
Appelons-le
William. Il était simple soldat dans l’armée américaine
qui libérait l’Europe à la fin de la Seconde Guerre Mondiale.
Son régiment fut affecté à la garde d’un village dont
il devait assurer la sécurité et où il fallait retrouver
éventuellement d’anciens Nazis. Les soldats devaient également
aider les habitants et les réfugiés dans leur vie quotidienne.
Un soir, William aperçut un adolescent qui courait dans un champ
à la limite du village. " Arrête ou je tire! "
cria-t-il. Le garçon se cacha derrière un arbre. Le soldat attendit
patiemment.
Finalement, pensant que le soldat avait disparu, le garçon sortit
de sa cachette et se rendit près d’un grand arbre au pied duquel il
se mit à creuser. Le soldat l’observait de loin et, quand l’enfant
eut fini et se fut remis en marche, le soldat cria à nouveau :
"Arrête ou je tire!" L’adolescent courut; William décida
de ne pas tirer mais plutôt de le poursuivre. Il le rattrapa et le plaqua
au sol.
Dans le combat qui suivit, l’enfant lâcha une Ménorah magnifiquement
décorée qu’il tenait jusque-là précieusement contre
son cœur. William ramassa la Ménorah, l’enfant tenta de la récupérer :
"rendez-la-moi, elle est à moi!"
Le soldat plongea son regard dans les yeux terrifiés du garçon
et tenta de le rassurer : "Moi aussi je suis Juif!" dit-il.
L’enfant qui avait survécu aux camps d’extermination n’avait aucune
confiance dans les hommes en uniforme. On l’avait déjà forcé
à assister au meurtre de son père. Il n’avait aucune idée
de ce qu’était devenue sa mère.
Dans les semaines qui suivirent, le soldat William s’occupa particulièrement
du jeune garçon et celui-ci, David, apprit à lui faire confiance.
Tous deux avaient de longues conversations ensemble et, quand William fut
libéré de ses obligations militaires, il proposa à David
de l’accompagner à New York où il l’adopterait. David accepta
et William s’occupa de tous les papiers.
William reprit ses activités au sein de la communauté juive
de New York. Un de ses collègues, responsable du Musée Juif
de la ville, vit la Ménorah. Il annonça à David que cet
objet avait une très grande valeur puisque c’était une relique
de l’art juif européen et que toute la communauté pourrait l’admirer:
il offrit à David 50.000 dollars, mais l’adolescent refusa. La Ménorah
avait été acquise plus de deux cents ans auparavant et était,
depuis, restée dans la famille; aucune somme d’argent ne parviendrait
à lui faire abandonner ce trésor.
Quand ‘Hanouccah arriva, William et David allumèrent la Ménorah
devant la fenêtre du salon. Puis David monta étudier dans sa
chambre.
William savourait le silence paisible du salon quand on frappa à
sa porte. C’était une femme qui parlait avec un fort accent allemand.
Elle semblait désemparée, cherchait ses mots et commença
par s’excuser de le déranger. Elle se promenait dans la rue quand elle
avait aperçu la Ménorah à la fenêtre.
"Nous avions dans le temps une Ménorah semblable dans notre
famille" dit-elle dans un anglais hésitant. Elle n’en avait jamais
vu un autre exemplaire. Pouvait-elle entrer et la voir de plus près?
William la fit entrer et lui dit que la Ménorah appartenait à
son fils adoptif qui pourrait peut-être lui en apprendre davantage à
ce sujet. Il appela William pour qu’il explique à cette femme d’où
venait la Ménorah.
* * *
Devant l’antique Ménorah où brillaient les lumières de ‘Hanouccah, David retrouva sa mère…
Traduit par Feiga Lubecki
Original de l'histoire? As printed in Heroes of Spirit: 100 Rabbinic Tales of the Holocaust by David Hoffman
The Menorah In The Window
Hashgacha Pratis is a major player in all of our lives. Sometimes, it takes the bright burning lights of a menorah that reunites a family, to help us see that.
Private Winneger was with the U.S. Army as it marched through Europe at the end of World War II. His unit was assigned to a European village with the orders to secure the town, search for any hiding Nazis and to help the villagers in any way they could.
Winneger was on patrol one night when he saw a figure running through a field just outside the village. He shouted, "Halt or I'll shoot." The figure ducked behind a tree. Winneger waited and eventually the figure came out and figuring that Winneger was no longer nearby, went to a spot near a large tree and started to dig. Winneger waited until the figure had finished digging and was once more on the move before he stepped out and again shouted, "Halt or I'll shoot!" The figure ran. Winneger decided not to shoot but to try to catch the furtive figure. He shortly caught up with the figure and tackled it to the ground.
To his surprise he found he had captured a young boy. An ornate menorah had fallen from the boy's hands in the scuffle. Winneger picked up the menorah. The boy tried to grab it back shouting, "Give it to me. It's mine!" Winneger assured the boy that he was among friends. Furthermore, he himself was Jewish. The boy who had just survived several years of the Holocaust and had been in a concentration camp was mistrustful of all men in uniforms. He had been forced to watch the shooting of his father. He had no idea what had become of his mother.
In the weeks that followed, Winneger took the young boy, whose name was David, under his wing. As they became closer and closer, Winneger's heart went out to the boy. He offered David the opportunity to come back to New York City with him. David accepted and Winneger went through all the necessary paperwork and officially adopted David.
Winneger was active in the New York Jewish community. An acquaintance of his, a curator of the Jewish Museum in Manhattan, saw the menorah. He told David it was a very valuable historic, European Menorah and should be shared with the entire Jewish Community. He offered David $50,000 for the menorah.
But David refused the generous offer saying the menorah had been in his family for over 200 years and that no amount of money could ever make him sell it.
When Chanukah came, David and Winneger lit the menorah in the window of their home in New York City. David went upstairs to his room to study and Winneger stayed downstairs in the room with the menorah.
There was a knock on the door and Winneger went to answer. He
found a woman with a strong German accent who said that she was walking down
the street when she saw the menorah in the window. She said that she had once
had one just like it in her family and had never seen any other like it. Could
she come and take a closer look? Winneger invited her in and said that the
menorah belonged to his son who could perhaps tell her more about it. Winneger
went upstairs and called David down to talk to the woman. As he came down
the stairs and saw her, he shrieked "Mama". As she set eyes on him,
she started crying hysterically. as she was reunited with her son who she
thought had perished. They were the only surviving members of their family,
and though they thought the other was gone forever, they were reunited as
the menorah provided yet another Chanukah miracle
As printed in Heroes of Spirit: 100 Rabbinic Tales of the Holocaust by David
Hoffman
