Submitted by Dena Gottlieb of Modiin Ilit, Israel
Sometime during the shiva for Rivky Holtzberg Hy"d, a young woman
came into the Rosenberg home. She told Mrs. Rosenberg that she had something
for her, and handed her a small package. Curious, Mrs. Rosenberg opened it
and gasped. Inside was Rivky's diamond ring and one of her nicer Shabbos
dresses.
"How did you get these?"
The young woman gently told Rivky's mother, "Let me tell you my
story."
"I had been traveling in India. Somehow I ran afoul of the law and
ended up in an Indian jail. You cannot begin to imagine what an awful,
horrible, primitive place it was... The only redeeming factor is that the
jails there are quite disorganized, and those who are in charge are corrupt.
Somehow I managed to escape.
"The first place I ran to was, of course, the Chabad House. Everyone
knew that that's where you went when you needed help. Rivky welcomed me, fed
me, and told me that it was vital that I get out of the country. I knew
that - but I was very afraid. What if they would check me, check my
passport? Then Rivky gave me one of her Shabbat dresses and her diamond
ring. 'If you look very dignified, a well-dressed married woman with a ring
on her finger, they won't look too closely at you. They will leave you
alone. A woman with a diamond ring is in a different class. She's a
respectable woman. She's not a criminal, someone who has escaped from jail.
They won't bother you.'
"I took the dress and the ring and as you can see, I got out safely.
And now I have come to give you Rivky's dress and her ring that she lent to
me."
Rivky's mother took the possessions of her beloved daughter. Then
she told the young woman, "I recently saw Rivky and noticed that she wasn't
wearing her ring. When I asked her about it, she told me 'zeh b'shlichut.'
It's on shlichus." (shlichus means the work that they do being Rabbi and Rebbitzen to help other Jews come closer to Torah and Torah life)
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