for me while I knock in the wooden nails, we could have a partition. You would have your own room, and I would have some space for me and my wife and the children."
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Heshek's sense of decency was immediately aroused, and his listless body sprang back to life. He thought of Papa and Mama, who looked as vulnerable as Reb Moishe. He looked at Reb Moishe's pregnant wife and thought of Blimcia, who had been expecting a baby when he last saw her.
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It must be the will of God, he said to himself. I am here for a purpose, and God is reminding me that I am on this earth to help my fellow man, not to sit and beg for salvation.
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Extricated from his gloomy fog, he embarked with new energy on the projects at hand. Into the woods he went with a borrowed saw, sawing trees into short logs, then splitting them into planks. Reb Moishe sat on a rock chopping wood into small splinters to use as nails. Together they built the walls that formed a large room for the Spitz family and a small one for Heshek.
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Heshek became more a friend than a neighbor, a resourceful helping hand for Rabbi Spitz, who was unaccustomed to physical exertion and handiwork. Reb Moishe was a deep thinker and provided stimulating company for Heshek. Jewish teaching always surfaced while they were busy working.
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"When God commanded Noah to build the ark, he too lacked tools and nails. Still, the ark got built, and they survived the Flood."
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"That is so," said Heshek, "but in Noah's case, God instructed him exactly how to build the ark. His intention was to save Noah and thereby rebuild the world. God, however, does not seem to be instructing us here. From the looks of this vast wilderness, this endless war, and our Russian friends, who knows if God intends for us to survive?"
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"Heshek, Heshek, you are talking like a nonbeliever, which surprises me after hearing about your background. Can't you see? It is clear that God has given us all the traveling and physical labor that we tried to save by not going to Palestine after the Great War. And after this Great Flood, this world war, the goyim will be weak from destroying each other. All these
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