“Why is it so important to go through this entire process? It must take you a very long time, and it is so taxing on the body and mind.”

“Yes, you are right.” The sheik nodded slowly. “But you must remember that whatever it is we are about to do will be causing us to enter into lofty realms, to stand in the place of unimaginable greatness and holiness. Spending any less time before such an encounter would be not only disrespectful but foolish. So sit now and prepare yourself as much as possible. Remove all extraneous thoughts from your mind.”

Rav Moshe’s mind began to race. What exactly was the sheik up to? What type of place was he going to take him to? What if he had made a grievous error and now the priest was about to introduce him to some terrible and unholy avodah zarah, chas v’shalom!

They sat there in silence, and with each passing minute, Rav Moshe became more and more nervous. The priest also was beginning to sweat, and his hands were literally beginning to tremble.

“Do you feel this nervous every time you do this?”

“Yes, every single time. And soon you will fully understand why. You will see. Now come, it is finally time.”

Together they rose from the ground and walked through the incredibly beautiful garden. They turned a corner, and there in the middle of the garden was an exquisitely built small house.

“As we approach the holy place, you must bow.” The sheik said, sweat now pouring from his face as he gulped nervously. “This is a very serious thing.”

The sheik stepped closer to the house and fell onto his face, bowing in the direction of the house. Rav Moshe hesitated. What was he to do? What if there was an avodah zarah inside of the house? He had to think of something quick before he lost all of his progress and failed to get the sheik’s great secret. So, Rav Moshe bent to the ground and had in mind that he was bowing to the Kodesh Hakodoshim. He davened extremely hard with tears that Hashem should guide him and not allow him to commit any act that was in any shape or form contrary to the holy Torah.

Finally, they opened the door to the house and stepped inside. The moment had finally arrived.

Rav Moshe saw that the house was completely empty. There was only one thing in the center of the room, four giant letters carved from gold which spelled the four letters of Hashem’s holy name.

“You are now gazing at the name of the Master of the World, Who created all things,” the sheik whispered in awe. “It is a special tradition, a secret, passed down in our family, that this is the holy name of the Creator and Ruler of all things. After I undergo this preparation you have now undergone, I come here and pray for the person who has sought my help, asking to be healed and saved from death. If the letters glow after my prayers, that means the person will be saved. If the letters remain dim, that means they will die. Now you know my great secret.”

Rav Moshe broke down weeping. He was relieved, but also shaken to the core of his being. Here was a non-Jew, an Arab sheik, who felt the appropriate fear, awe, and love of Hashem’s holy name, the way every Jew was supposed to. This Arab had no idea that this was no secret; every Jew around the world for thousands of years, even the children, say this four-letter name hundreds of times a day. But who trembles at reciting the name? Who feels the respect and awe of looking at and reciting the name of the one and only G-d of the universe, the Melech Malchei Hamelachim? And here, this Arab was demonstrating the proper way every Jew should view Hashem’s ineffable four-letter name!

And this secret was truly a secret worth discovering.

THE END.

(Originally featured in Mishpacha Jr., Issue 881)