Shushan Purim and Beyond (Part 1)

I know it's been a while since Purim, but like the young girl walking on the table said, Purim is forever. Let's finish up the story.
~
Everyone woke up in a stupor the next morning. Some found themselves on the Rebbe's couch, others in the yard. We prayed the morning service down the block and headed back to Nachal Shimshon where we were greeted with grilled-cheese sandwiches and juice.

"Why are you walking on the table Tiferet?" one boy asked.
"My Abba lets me walk on the table when it's Purim and every day is Purim according to my Abba."
She was right and she was teaching us a very important lesson.
~
"Sabari, we want to hire you for today?"
"How many people?"
"A full sheirut to go around different places in Yerushalayim."
"Top or bottom?"
"We'll meet you on Rashi."

We had essentially 5 goals that day:
1) Deliver mishloach manos to the Amshinover
2) Visit Raz Hartman
3) I don't remember this one (maybe visit Dan Wurtzberger?)
4) Stop by the Machlis residence
5) End up at Chaim Dovid

Sabari headed towards Bayit Vi'gan where the Amshinover was supposedly based:

"This is it. He lives here," someone said as we pulled up to the Amshinovers building.

We walked up the steps to the third floor and his door was open. There was some guy in there and a lot of mishloach manos lying around. The Amshinover, however, was nowhere to be seen. Nonetheless, we took advantage of the open-access and checked out his gear.

We were told that he was still davening down the block at his Yeshiva. We ran over and were supposedly some of the last few in before they locked the doors. We saw the tzaddik praying, followed him down a hallway, down the steps, waited, up the steps, back down the hallway, and into a large room. It was time for him to distribute mishloach manos.

We waited in line to get very intense personal l'chaims from the tzaddik. He would stare you in the eyes and slowly say "L'chaim Tovim uli'Shalommmm" holding the "m" until your soul nearly shot out of your body. Justin knows what I'm talking about.

We got an extra l'chaim and rugelach for the Rebbe and we were going to try to meet up with him wherever he was.

After numerous failed attempts at calling the Rebbe we received a call that he was somewhere in Me'ah She'arim and his phone was broken. We didn't know how or when he made it to Me'ah She'arim but we were going to find out.

We drove to Raz and found a spot for Sabari right outside the apartment building. As we got off the sheirut Jason Allen ran off. We didn't see him for a few hours until he caught up with us on the way out of Yerushalayim. We asked him where he had been but he didn't remember.

The rest of us went into Raz's building. Some of us had been to Raz the previous Friday night and so we were certainly aware that it would be difficult to walk all seven flights in our current state.

"Squeeze in to the elevator. It'll be tight but hey, it's only seven floors." The door closed and we began to accelerate upwards.

1...2...3...4...5...6...6...6...6...

"Did we stop moving?"

"I think so."

"Why isn't the door opening?"

"Give it a second."

"Oh no, I think we're stuck."

And so we were. 10 people stuck in an elevator which we now noticed had a maximum occupancy sticker for six.

"What should we do?"

"Push the alarm."

And so we did. We also managed to wedge open the door only to find we had nearly made it to Raz but were stuck between floor 6 and 7. We made contact with Raz's wife and it was comforting to know that at least people knew we were stuck.

We called the elevator man but with the traffic in the streets of Yerushalayim on Shushan Purim and the fact that the elevator man himself was probably somewhere and intoxicated, we could have been there all day. We tried to keep our composure. Diller took advantage of the time to have a photo shoot.

After 45 minutes of no elevator-man, Raz's wife thought that maybe her neighbor might know what to do. We closed the door and slowly felt ourselves being lowered to the ground. At any moment the wire could snap and we could plummet to the ground.

The holy books teach that before any light there has to be a darkness that precedes it and so after and hour and change of darkness we had our own miniature redemption.

[At this point, I realized I have much to do before Shabbos. I'll say the story bi'kitzur and you can watch the videos and put together the pieces.

We got out and in the same building ended up in Dov Shurin's apartment. It turns out that the Rebbe had kahincedentally stumbled into the same building looking for a bathroom. Our earlier call that Rav Judah was in Me'ah She'arim must have been a distorted "Rav Judah's at Dov Shurin." They were in the middle of their seuda and were beginning to lain megillah. After a while we made it upstairs to Raz (on foot) and stayed there for a bit. We left to daven mincha and to head to Dan Wurtzberger. We walked up a very big hill. The Rebbe took a shevua that he wouldnt go up to Dan Wurtzbergers seuda unless they had an elevator. We went in for a little. We came out and headed towards Ma'alot Dafne to the home of the Machlis's. We were running late and they were already up to their seder...

TO BE CONTINUED AND COMPLETED IN THE NEXT POST!

A GUT SHABBOS, A GUT CHODESH!