צז

But I did not wish to argue with him much. And also in any case I could not speak properly — even in Russian. And the captain too could not speak well. And we spoke together as two simple people engaged in a matter of law together — neither of whom understands the other's error. And I immediately went up from the cabin to the deck in somewhat deflated spirit. Only I strengthened myself and said in my heart: whatever happens — blessed be Hashem who has already brought me to the ship. And immediately and at once we began to engage in cooking for Shabbas. And all the sailors were good to us — and immediately showed us how to draw sweet water from the barrels with the pump — and the place of the wood. And we began to cook the chicken that was with us. And all our belongings were still placed above on the ship deck — since I had not wished to ask the captain where to place them. For I said: I will wait until the anger passes. And afterward I raised my eyes heavenward and said: Master of the world — I am Yours. And the little money that is in my hand — all of it is Yours. Do with us as You wish. For I knew that if — Heaven forbid — that lord were to cheat me — certainly You would help me and provide other money for me. But I beg of You: save me from his hand. And let not the money of Israel be handed to a Gentile for nothing. And let not this trouble me so greatly. And other brief words such as these. And afterward I lay down upon the belongings and dozed a little. And afterward I arose and strengthened myself. And I came to the captain and asked him: please sir — inform me where to place the belongings. And he immediately went down with me to the cabin and said to me with a pleasant face: the entire cabin is before you — place in whatever spot you wish. And immediately my mind somewhat expanded. And I went up and informed Rabbi Yehuda Eliezer. But even so — we had no leisure to bring them down — for we needed to complete the cooking. And afterward after some hours — we saw that the day had descended greatly — and Shabbas was imminent. And we removed the pot from the fire. And we immediately began to bring down the belongings. And the sailors brought down some heavy items. And also at that hour some sailors went down and cleared out the cabin and swept it. And we said: all of this is for our sake — that they were clearing and sweeping the cabin in honor of holy Shabbas for us. And we also arranged everything properly. And placed everything in its place. And afterward we put on Shabbas clothes. And the entire cabin was empty — for the captain had already gone back in a small boat to another ship. And the sailors all went up to the ship deck. And the cabin was left empty for us. And so for most of Erev Shabbas Kodesh and on the other days — generally the cabin was empty for us. And we had permission to do in it whatever we wished — to pray and to learn and to write and to meditate in private, and so on. And then immediately — we two prayed in the cabin in joy. And there was no obstacle or impediment to our prayer at all. And when we completed the prayer — joy was placed in our hearts. And we were very joyful. And we said Shalom Aleichem in joy. And we arranged the table with two loaves of bread and a cup of wine for Kiddush. And we made Kiddush over the cup in joy. And we washed our hands and ate — in joy — dried fish that was with us — and the chicken. And we drank wine and recited Birkas HaMazon — all in joy. And afterward we danced a little from joy. And afterward we lay down to sleep in the cabin. And the captain had still not returned. But in the night — while we were asleep — the captain came to the cabin. And we were asleep. And he did not wake us at all.

And in the morning on Shabbas — we arose and went up on the ship. And we saw that they were occupied with pulling the ropes and spreading the sails. And we understood that it was true — as they had said: that on holy Shabbas they would begin to go. But even so — on that Shabbas day they did not go — only the ship moved from its place a little at the time when we prayed the morning prayer. And also in the morning the captain went about the ticket — and was delayed there the whole day until toward evening. And we prayed Shacharit and Musaf as our way. And no one was in the cabin with us during the prayer. And even if it happened that some sailor entered the cabin to take something for his need — he did not confuse us at all. And after the prayer we made Kiddush over the cup. And afterward we read the Torah portion — twice Scripture and once Targum. And afterward we strolled a little on the ship deck. And we saw how they were occupied repairing the ropes and sails — and preparing themselves in all manner of preparations to travel. And we had great joy from this. For sometimes it happened — Heaven forbid — that the captain promised to leave immediately and then they had to wait several days. And in the previous days of Tishrei it had happened that they had waited three weeks on the ship before departing — until all the food they had prepared for themselves ran out — and the cold days arrived — and they had very great suffering to the point of the soul — Heaven forfend — as was known in Odessa. And blessed be Hashem who saved us from this. For on Friday we boarded the ship. And on Shabbas it moved from its place a bit. And on Sunday — the first of Rosh Chodesh Iyyar — the ship began to travel on its way.

And afterward we ate the morning meal. And we strolled once more on the ship. And afterward we went down to the cabin and lay down to sleep a little. And we woke from sleep and went up on the ship. And we were there all day until Mincha — for it was pleasant to sit on the ship deck since there was good air there. And we did not go down to the cabin except to sleep and eat and pray. And all day they were occupied with preparing the ship to travel. And on Shabbas morning the captain said to us to give him the ticket — for before the ship moves from its place they must show the ticket to the border guards (called brandvakh) standing on the sea. And we gave him the ticket. And he traveled there. And was delayed there all day until toward evening. And with him traveled another — that German-speaker who was the scribe for him. And the one who had some acquaintance with us. And afterward close to Mincha — the German-speaker came alone. And brought with him a small boat with sacks full of grain. And went down to the cabin and cleared out a place. And moved all our belongings to the side. And brought all the sacks with the grain into the cabin. And we had great joy from this — for we understood that the captain had intentionally brought more grain from Odessa to load in the cabin — as he had said as mentioned above. And now he had no claim against us. And afterward we prayed Mincha. And we ate Seudas Shelishis. And we said Bnei Heichala with a melody and tune. And we extended the meal until the darkness of night. And afterward we prayed Maariv of Rosh Chodesh Iyyar. And we made Havdalah over the cup. And we had no spices for Havdalah. We looked — and behold — ground pepper was standing on the table — for they wished to eat there. And I took the pepper and blessed the blessing of the spices. And afterward we brewed coffee and drank. And praised be G-d — holy Shabbas passed over us in peace and quiet and joy. And I gave praise to Hashem Blessed be He — that praised be G-d there was no anguish on Shabbas. Blessed is He who helped me until here.