“Not… not really, but how do we know we aren’t heading into greater danger? There are a lot of bandits out here, aren’t there?”

“Probably, yes.” Shabsi closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep, his frail body bumping up and down as the golem picked up his pace and began jogging through the dense forest.

“Great.” Shimshon sighed.

We return now to Baruch and Uncle Nathan. They confronted the soldiers attacking them to buy Shimshon time to escape and warn Shabsi before Sylvester got to him. Uncle Nathan managed to get away, but Baruch was captured and hauled away to the prison.

Stuck in a dingy cell, Baruch tried to keep his spirits up by davening constantly to Hashem and remembering that at least his actions had helped Shimshon escape and hopefully prevent great danger from entering the world.

One of the prison guards, a swarthy, shrewd fellow named Sebastian, took a liking to Baruch.

“Wow, wow, wow.” Sebastian walked toward Baruch’s cell and nodded at the untouched plate of meat in the corner of the cell. “I can’t believe you’re really sticking to your ideals. Aren’t you starving? How can you go for so long on vegetables?”

“I told you already, and the other guards, I’ll never taint my soul by allowing unkosher food inside my body. Come what may, I won’t eat it.”

“Very, very, brave.” Sebastian smiled. “You remind me of my son, you know? I miss him…. I don’t belong in this palace. I’m not much different from you, you see. I’m also a prisoner. I come from another kingdom far, far away, but I was captured in battle. I may not be behind bars, but I, too, am forced to do whatever the supervisor tells me. It’s a cruel fate.”

“So escape.”

“Ha! Do you think it’s so easy, boy?”

“My friend Shimshon did it.”

“Yes, and they’ve tightened up their system since that embarrassing incident. Besides, he had inside help from one of the guards.”

Baruch shrugged and slumped wearily against the wall, his head drooping onto his chest.

“You’re going to perish in here if you don’t have at least some of the meat.”

“I told you already, it’s not happening.”

“Stubborn boy.”

Sebastian watched Baruch closely for another moment, then turned and continued his walk past the other cells. A few moments later he returned. Baruch felt something brush against his hands and opened his eyes to discover three plump radishes on his lap.

“Thank you, Sebastian.” Baruch made a heartfelt brachah, understanding that Sebastian was just a messenger from Hashem, and it was Hashem alone Who deserved all the credit and gratitude for these lifesaving vegetables.

“What did you say before you ate those vegetables?”

“A blessing.”

“To whom? To me? I’ll take a blessing any day.”

“No, you’re just a messenger, if I am to be totally honest with you. While you must have done something right to be chosen by Hashem to deliver this good to me, ultimately, you are just a pawn in Hashem’s hands and He alone caused this.”

“Oh, yes? And if I decided to be coldhearted and not go out of my way to get more food for you, you would get vegetables how exactly? You would starve!”

“Hashem has many messengers, Sebastian. If you didn’t choose to help me, someone else would have.”

“I see you are truly someone special, Baruch. I can’t bear to see you perish in that cell. Listen closely to me. Tomorrow I am going to ask to be transferred to a different job. I’m working with the king’s animals in his private zoo in the west side of the palace. I’ll ask that I have a prisoner come with me on the feeding rounds because it is so difficult to do it on my own. I’ll select you to be my helper, and once we are feeding the animals, you’ll have access to more vegetables.”

“That is so kind of you, Sebastian. Thank you.”

“Be ready tomorrow.”

“I will… with the help of Hashem.”

True to his word, Sebastian was back the next day. Wordlessly, he opened Baruch’s cell door and led him up the dingy stairs and down the corridors until they arrived at the massive enclosures holding the king’s wild pets.

As they walked past the exotic creatures, tossed in food, and cleaned up inside the enclosures, Baruch kept his eyes on Sebastian who would nod every so often, signaling that it was safe for Baruch to sneak a vegetable.

As they got to the last enclosure, Baruch saw Sebastian stiffen.

“What’s wrong?”

“There’s a reason I was able to get this job so readily, my friend.” Sebastian turned to face Baruch, his expression grave. “The creature we must feed and clean now, has already killed several of the king’s men. It’s a man-eater. The king should just kill this mad lion, but he’s become too entertained by its bloodlust to do so.”

A roar shook the palace walls.

“Well.” Sebastian turned his key into the gate leading to the enclosure and gestured to Baruch. “After you ….”

to be continued… 

(Originally featured in Mishpacha Jr., Issue 967)