The Key
Shimon had so much to pray for in Uman, especially for the privilege of making Aliya. He asked Rebbe Nachman for a sign that he was making the right move...
So, here is the secret…
It has been a long journey home. Last year I went to Uman for Rosh Hashanah. While there, after going to Rebbeinu’s kever (grave site) for the first time, I went to the forest to pray. While praying in the forest, I began to beg Hashem to open the gates to Eretz Yisrael for our family over and over again. I begged Hashem to unlock the gates, please open the gates. My prayers were so intense that I was weeping, so much that I had to stop and bend down. As I bent down my tears pooled in my glasses and began to spill over into the ground….
Again begging Hashem to open the gates, please unlock the gates…
In that moment, I opened my eyes to see through my tears. There, on the dirt of the forest ground in Uman, was this old rusty key! What a gift!
When I brought the key home I took it to a person that knows metals and antiquities to find out about the key. After she did some test and examined it she said “I am sorry it is not that old, most people bring something like this and think it is 500 – 700 hundred years old and this key is not….” I said, “OK, that is fine, how old is it?”. She responded “200 – 210 years old”. For those that don’t know that puts this key in Uman during the same time that Rebbe Nachman would have been there, in Uman, praying more than likely in THAT FOREST!
Fast forward to now — after a lot of work and effort we are making our Aliyah in August. As we began looking for different places to go and we asked Rav Brody. He said to take a look at Maalot, “I think it would be good for you there.” So we did, we began looking at the community, looking at the city, looking for all the information we could find online. In one of our searches we found this picture of the sculpture of the key — which is in the heart of Maalot (see photo, above)….
All of these things are encouraging to me, and make me grateful that Hashem gives me little signs to show that he is listening… It is one thing to know He listens it is another thing to see that He listens.
7/11/2012
Kol Tuv Yes, from Hashem comes Kol Tuv. As I have become closer to Hashem (I read The Garden of emunah 10 timses and I study mussar and parts of the Tanach.) Stories like yours seem natural and the message is clearly from Hasehm. I am now able to recognize this and therefore thank Hashem for everything. I too am making aliyah in august. Hashem also made it possible for me and he chose this particular time. May you continue to see Hasem's hand in all that you do.
7/11/2012
Yes, from Hashem comes Kol Tuv. As I have become closer to Hashem (I read The Garden of emunah 10 timses and I study mussar and parts of the Tanach.) Stories like yours seem natural and the message is clearly from Hasehm. I am now able to recognize this and therefore thank Hashem for everything. I too am making aliyah in august. Hashem also made it possible for me and he chose this particular time. May you continue to see Hasem's hand in all that you do.