צה

And throughout that entire Friday — Erev Shabbas and Erev Sukkos — we stood before him. And he was very weak and his life-force was ebbing away moment by moment. I answered and said to him — with bowed head and a broken heart: "Rabbi — save yourself." He answered: "I have no desire for this." I answered and said: "Have compassion on your children and on your people." (And he waved his hand and said in the Ashkenazic tongue: "Et, et." And so I said to him in the Ashkenazic tongue: "Rebbi, helfts aych aleyn." He answered: "Ich hob epis kayn cheshek nit." I said: "Hot rachmanus iber ayere kinder un iber ayere layt.") And he waved his hand and said "Et, et" — as if to say: I am far removed from this now — very far — and I hear nothing of this now. And we spoke with him many more words that day. And throughout that day and the night following — Leil Shabbas — and on the first day of Sukkos, he sat on the chair. And at times he leaned himself over the table beside the chair and rested his head on his hand and lay somewhat — perhaps he slept a brief catnap of some kind. And we stood before him at all times, taking turns at our watch — at times these men stood while those slept, then the reverse. For from that Friday night onward we did not leave him.