Who can forget the beautiful, meaningful, and moving delivery of Rabbi Boruch Milikowsky’s holy words of mussar. It was a real zechus to have him as a rebbe. How I cherish his kind, soft words of encouragement. When he gave his talmid mussar, the talmid went away with a good feeling. He made you feel very special, even when you did something wrong. He always gave positive reinforcement and spoke directly to the problem, speaking openly to you as his talmid and also as his friend. He had a very warm relationship with each dorm boy, especially, acting as a father in many a way. I was a Baltimore resident, and I knew Rebbe as both a talmid and as a neighbor. His experiences in Europe, the Shoah, and Shanghai were transmitted to us, his talmidim, with the deep roots of his past Torah life, with his beautiful and unforgettable mussar words, and his very warm friendship.
The 1960s was a difficult era for teenagers in America, but Rebbe understood and listened to each talmid. He was very much in tune with the turbulent, topsy-turvy hippie culture of the Sixties. With his thick accent and his style of speech, he spoke our language, and we listened. He spoke with love and care, and through his talks and his listening to his TA boys, his Torah and mussar were absorbed by his hundreds and hundreds of students. His advice and counsel have guided us all, in all of our different walks of life.
Much of what I have accomplished in my own life I attribute to my wonderful parents; our Rav, Rabbi Mendel Feldman; my elementary school rebbe, Mr. Kurt Flamm, zt”l; my high school rebbe, Rabbi Milikowsky, zt”l; and my very special principal, mentor, and dear friend, Dr. Gershon Kranzler, zt”l. It is interesting that each of these mechanchim taught at TA during the 1960s. Each gave me an important perspective of kavod hatorah, ahavas Torah, ahavas Hashem, ahavas Yisrael, and respect for all of mankind. Rabbi Milikowsky was part of an old, rich Judaic world, a world destroyed by horror, and he survived, baruch Hashem, to transmit to us the rich European Jewish culture he inherited. He so meticulously bridged his life to ours in the modern world, with his love and charm and keen intuition. He reached his boys with a warm smile and a very special chein that endeared him to all.
Most memorable was Rebbe’s ingenious way of expressing his masterful words of mussar. My favorite mussar was the toot-toot-toot story, which I have repeated time and time again to Pirchei groups, Camp Agudah and Camp Munk groups, NCSY kids, my own children and, iy”H, to my grandchildren, in the very near future. The story will always be the same, but the delivery... No, only Rebbe could do it the way Rebbe did it – so simple, so sweet, and so perfect. Singing it in his rich warm voice, eyes rolling back, so that only the whites were visible, swaying back and forth. We were entranced, completely fixated. No one could deliver mussar in a more beautiful and meaningful way. So, here is Rebbe’s story of toot, toot, toot.
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Rebbe entered the classroom and turned off the lights. He then closed the door and told us to close our sefer for now, for today our learning would begin a little differently; today Rebbe had a story to tell us. He sat at his desk with his head in his hands, and he began to chant a sweet, sad melody of old. “Ay ya yei, ay ya yei,” singing it over and over again. He chanted, “My dear talmidim, I have a story to tell all of you. Listen, listen carefully to the story, because there is so much we can learn from this beautiful story.
“There was a captain who had a ship, and he went to the townspeople to make them a proposition: ‘I know of a place, I know of a very beautiful place, an island where all the sand and stones on the island are made from diamonds. You are free to gather up all the stones you can carry and load them up on my ship to take home to your families. This wonderful place I can take you to, but there is one important thing each of you must remember. When it is time to leave, I will sound the ship’s horn on three occasions. The first time is a warning toot-toot. A little later, the second toot-toot means you had better come aboard at once. And the third toot-toot is my final call. Once that final toot-toot sounds, the ship will leave the port moments later and return you to your town and your homes. So remember the rules and take heed of the horn.’ The townspeople were excited, and all agreed to the rules. The ship left port on the way to the beautiful island.
“Ay ya yei, ay ya yei,” over and over Rebbe sang and swayed. And we were absolutely transfixed. Each talmid was on that ship. We were going to wherever Rebbe would take us.
“From the ship, after many weeks of travel, a lookout perched high in the rafters and sails of the ship saw a sparkle far, far away. He called out to the people ‘Land ahoy! I see the sparkle of the diamonds.’ They got brighter and brighter as the ship approached the shore. Excitement was building, and the captain called together all the crew and passengers to reiterate the rules one more time, so all clearly understood. ‘Remember the three toot-toots and never forget the rules and our agreement.’
“As the ship docked everyone ran excited onto the diamond-covered island. They could not believe their eyes. It was just as the captain had told them: diamonds, diamonds everywhere. The people scattered across the island, each gathering diamonds wherever he could. After many days, the captain knew the time had come to go back to sea and return to home. As he blew the first horn – ‘toot-toot’ – the people took heed. The cautious ones took their diamonds and, satisfied with their lot, boarded the ship.
“But you know, but you know,” Rebbe would say, “many people said, ‘All these diamonds are left; we can wait for the second toot-toot, and there is still plenty of time.’ And so it was, a day later, that the captain sounded the second horn: ‘toot-toot.’ By now, the anxious crowd streamed hastily to the ship. After all, the instructions were quite clear, and there would be just one more warning.
“But you know, but you know,” Rebbe would say, “there were those people who could not leave a single diamond on the ground. They said, ‘How can we leave these precious stones here. We will wait to the very last minute and run back, just before the ship leaves port.’ And so it was, hours went by, and the captain, realizing that foolish people were still on the island, gave the final toot-toot. Minutes later, the captain raised anchor, and the ship began to leave the port. Frantically, some stragglers jumped into the water to board the ship. With the help of those on the ship, they climbed aboard, cold, wet, and frightened from a near disaster.
“But you know, but you know, my precious talmidim, that there were those very foolish people whose greed kept them away from even the final toot-toot. Gazing down to the ocean, they finally realized the ship had set sail, and as they helplessly ran to the shore, it was of course much too late. Soon after, a severe winter set in, and they all perished.
“Ay ya yei, ay ya yei, what good were their diamonds to them now?” By now, Rebbe had everyone spellbound and completely entranced. He continued his melodious chant. “And who, my talmidim, is the captain? Why of course, my dear boys, the captain is Hakadosh Baruch Hu. And who are the passengers? Of course, it is we, we, His dear children.
“Hashem takes us to a world of gashmius, filled with sparkling, tempting diamonds. But we have an agreement, and the agreement – it is our Torah. Hashem allows us to gather much physical wealth, the abundant diamonds, but he never wants us to forget our agreement, and to always live by the rules. And he gives us warnings. So many, many times, we have the opportunity to return to the Torah and not to get caught up in our greed.
“Some do teshuva at the first toot-toot. But not all return. Some of us need a second chance to return to the Torah, and we only return at the second toot-toot. Ay ya yei, but you know how very foolish some of us are. We can’t; oh, we can’t pull ourselves out of greed. We mamash wait till the very last second, and then, only with help from others are we finally pulled aboard the ship. Our teshuva is late, very late, yet Hashem accepts our last minute teshuva.
“But nebech, oh nebech, some either don’t hear or just don’t want to hear the final toot-toot. They will have to meet with Hashem empty-handed in both gashmius and in ruchnius. They never, never did return. My dear Boys, you, my wonderful talmidim, please, please always react immediately to the toot-toot. It’s Hashem’s way of telling us that He loves us, and we must all eventually one day return home. You see, the real home is the olam ha’emes, the world to come. Don’t get caught up your whole life looking for the diamonds. Always take heed of our Torah and the agreement we have with Hashem. Listen carefully to each toot-toot. Hashem is waiting for us all to come home. Please listen for the toot-toot!!!”
The room was totally still, and a hush was upon the entire class. Rebbe finally opened his eyes, with a glimmer of a smile and a reassuring nod. That day, we learned very, very well, and we davened with a great deal of kavana. And while they didn’t always last too long, the kavana and the special learning, ever since that day, all 25 of those talmidim are listening very carefully to the toot-toot of Hashem.
