Then, another letter arrived. This time, it was not Chaim nor his wife, Tamar, who found it first

Chaim bent down, picked up the black envelope, and read the letter.

I write to you once more, kind soul, so that you know my gratitude is genuine. I would not be able to live with myself if I knew Shoshanah was in anyone’s hands other than your own. I know you are a good man, Chaim. Only you are capable of cherishing this child the way she truly deserves.

It is not easy, this task I have thrown upon you. I know this well. But I beg of you: do not cast Shoshanah upon anyone else. The responsibility to raise her as your own cannot be transferred to another. I have entrusted you alone with her safety.

Do not let me down. Do not betray my trust.

Chaim finished reading the letter aloud to his wife and then sighed.

“Again, there is no signature! Who is this person?”

“What now, Chaim? Gimpel already said he will look throughout the city for another set of parents to care for the baby.”

“I will go to Gimpel right now.”

“And tell him what?”

“He doesn’t need to find parents to raise the baby. We will.”

******************

Chaim and Tamar never again questioned their decision to raise Shoshanah as their own child. They only prayed that they would do a sufficient job and care for her properly. As it turned out, they did not need to worry. They were exemplary parents and Shoshanah was always well fed and groomed.

Poor though they were, Chaim and Tamar made up for materialistic absences by instilling within Shoshanah a genuine love and appreciation for spiritual matters. They taught her to cherish a good davening more than a hot cocoa on a cold day and to care more about whether Chaim was able to learn properly than if there were holes in her coat.

Shoshanah never questioned her parents about her origin and she never had any reason to assume she was not their biological child. The gold key that had accompanied her when she had been left at Chaim’s door years earlier was hidden away inside Chaim’s closet.

Then, another letter arrived. This time, it was not Chaim nor his wife, Tamar, who found it first.