Mishpacha:
THE LAST WORD
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abbi Tzvi "Hershel"
Moskowitz, a prominent antique merchant in Antwerp, is used to surprises. That
seems to be the nature of the antique business. But one special find took him
on a journey to unravel a mystery which he has not yet solved.
Some years ago, Rabbi Moskowitz was asked to appraise the value of a
library that a client had inherited. While examining the books, Rabbi Moskowitz
found the following handwritten inscription on the inside cover of one:
"Reb Nachum the son of Yosef HaSofer who died on the second day of Rosh
Chodesh lyar 5574 (1814) promises that whoever learns Mishnayos on his yahrtzeit
will experience Heavenly salvation."
Says Rabbi Moskowitz: "That very day was the second day of Rosh
Chodesh lyar. Immediately, I and the book's owner sat down to learn Mishnayos.
Since then, I have done so on that day every year."
His curiosity aroused, Rabbi Moskowitz
did some detective work and found that
Reb Nachum had
lived in Tachov in the Czech Republic. Determined to find the man's burial
plot, Rabbi Moskowitz traveled to Tachov before the yahrtzeit last week,
a seven hour drive from Antwerp.
Unable to find the
grave in the town's Jewish cemetery, Rabbi Moskowitz spoke with the curator of
a Jewish museum who told him that Reb Nachum's gravesite was once a focal point
for throngs of visitors. Since then, many of the gravestones were apparently
removed to make way for mobile homes, although the graves underneath were
undisturbed. Searching through pictures, it was discovered that Reb Nachum's yahrtzeit
was actually the first day of Rosh Chodesh lyar, and was in 5575, not 5574,
but the man himself is still a mystery.
We invite our
readers to help solve this one.
- David Damen, Belgium
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