Page 17 - Issue 16

I arranged the candles and went to the coat rack for my
hat, explaining to Osin that "during the prayer you must
stand with your head covered and at the end say
'Amen.'" He put on his major's hat and stood. I lit the
candles and recited my own prayer in Hebrew, which
went something like this: "Blessed are You, God, for
allowing me to rejoice on this day of Chanukah, the
holiday of our liberation, the holiday of our return to the
way of our fathers. Blessed are You, God, for allowing me
to light these candles. May you allow me to light the
Chanukah candles many times in your city, Jerusalem,
with my wife, Avital, and my family and friends."

This time, however, inspired by the sight of Osin standing
meekly at attention, I added in Hebrew: "And may the
day come when all our enemies, who today are planning
our destruction, will stand before us and hear our prayers
and say 'Amen.'"

"Amen," Osin echoed back. He sighed with relief, sat
down and removed his hat. For some time we looked
silently at the burning candles. They quickly melted, and
the hot wax was spread pleasantly over the glass surface
of the table. Then Osin caught himself, summoned
Gavriliuk, and brusquely ordered him to clean it up.
I returned to the barracks in a state of elation, and our
kibbutz made tea and merrily celebrated the end of
Chanukah. Naturally, I told them about Osin's
"conversion," and it soon became the talk of the camp. I
realized that revenge was inevitable, but I also knew they
had plenty of other reasons to punish me.
Excerpted from Mr. Sharansky's book, Fear No Evil.