
ויגדל משה ויצא אל אחיו וירא בסבלתם וירא איש מצרי מכה איש עברי מאחיו ... (ב-יא)
R’ Simcha Zissel zt”l of Kelm notes that Parshas Shemos introduces us to Moshe Rabbeinu. From now until the end of the Torah, we will be learning and studying about the life and greatness of Moshe Rabbeinu. He was the prophet who spoke to Hashem “face to face” and was the man who taught all of the Torah to the Jewish people. Moshe exhibited the quality which every Jew should have, but most importantly it is a quality that is absolutely essential for the leader of the Jewish people - the quality of participating in the burden of his fellow man, feeling his pain, and empathizing with his suffering.
On the evening of December 24, 1944, in the the camp of Hauhenstein, near Kaminetz, something unusual occurred. Many in this camp were in the infirmary, sick and weakened from the slave labor and lack of proper nutrition. If only they had more food, more of them could be saved. On this eve of the gentile holiday, to everyone’s surprise, the camp’s inmates were given double portions of bread, sugar and margarine.
As they stood on line to receive their extra rations, a young man, a hero, by the name of Shimon Zricken, had an inspiration. If everyone would donate a small portion of their rations, some of the sick people in the infirmary could be saved. He got up on a box at the head of the line and spoke. “We have a great opportunity to save some of our people. There are sick people in the infirmary who are starving. Let us join together in this great mitzvah of saving lives. Everyone should give something from their rations in order to save our starving brothers.” Immediately the soul of the Jews was awakened, and they gave away part of their rations to save these weakened people.
The next day after work, Shimon was called into the office of the Nazi commander. On his way he met another man, the camp secretary, who told him that he’d just been sentenced to death because he had organized a “Communist gathering” and called for a rebellion. When he entered the office, the Nazi demanded to know by what right Shimon had organized the gathering and what kind of ideas was he was bringing into the camp, speaking publicly as though he were in the Kremlin.
Shimon was petrified but still managed to ask the Nazi for permission to say his last words before his execution. The words that came out of his mouth were like thunderbolts from Heaven.
“We Jews are forgotten from the world! No one cares about us. The only ones who can take care of us is ourselves, and only we can understand the pain of one another here. I know that there is nothing wrong with our sick friends except a lack of food. And if we won’t have pity on them, who will? We share a common destiny. You have made us collectively responsible. Not only are we brothers in faith, but also in our pain and affliction. I did what I did for the sole purpose of saving lives, Jewish lives, and in that way they would be able to work again for you - for the Reich!” He spoke this way for a long time and miraculously, the Nazi devil began to soften. Suddenly, the officer looked up and said one word: “Out.”
Shimon ran as fast as his legs could carry him. Word got around that not only had he been acquitted from death, but that he was going to become “an elder spokesman of the Jews.” This sadistic Nazi removed the previous elder who had reported him for his “crime” and installed Shimon in his place.
However, the victory was short-lived. The next day, he was called back to the office. The Nazi commander handed him a whip and said, “From now on, you will be in charge. With this whip you will hit the Jews hard and make them work!”
Shimon felt miserable. Hit another Yid? How could he? Once again, he begged the Nazi for permission to speak. “Sir, I cannot hit the prisoners. They are my brothers, brothers of one destiny, brothers of pain. I cannot hit people from my own nation, but I guarantee that the quota of work will be done.” For the second time in two days, a miracle occurred and the Nazi appeared almost normal. Then he looked at Shimon in wonder and barked, “Get out, you dirty Jew!” Shimon was saved from two horrors, one worse than the other - his own death paling in comparison with torturing his poor brethren.