A Jewish family in Van suffered through an especially harsh winter. Snow fell for many days without stopping and piled up around the house where the small family lived with their children. The snow covered the entrances to the house and accumulated on the roofs, turning the neighborhood into a dazzling white field.
As the mother began preparing the Sabbath meal, she lit the fire and discovered, to her surprise, that the accumulated snow had blocked the chimney. Smoke gathered and descended into the house, filling the air and making it increasingly difficult to breathe.
There was no choice: someone had to go outside, climb onto the roof, and clear the chimney opening.
The father put on his coat and hat and prepared to go out. As he dressed, his eldest son did the same and insisted on helping him.
“It is too dangerous now,” the father refused.
“I am the eldest. I am old enough. I will climb onto the roof with you!”
The father explained: “The winds are strong, the ladder is unsteady, and the roof is covered with slippery snow. This is not the time to help. There will be other opportunities.” The son insisted and followed his father into the storm.
The son climbed the ladder while his father followed behind, watching anxiously and ready to catch him if he slipped. They climbed slowly, and the father hurried to clear the chimney so that his son would suffer as little as possible from the freezing cold.
Ten years passed, and the family grew. To the proud grandfather’s joy, his eldest son had a first child. That winter was just as severe and snowy. Once again, snow piled up in the yard, on the carts, and on the roofs. Once again, the chimney became blocked.
“I remember that winter when I was young, and I remember how you insisted, for no reason, that I stay inside!” the son said. “But today there is no need. I will go onto the roof by myself and be back soon.”
The father smiled and said nothing. While his son dressed to go out, the father also put on his clothes and coat. His son planned to hurry out ahead of him so the old man would not have to climb.
When the son began climbing toward the roof, he saw his father following. But his father was carrying a small bundle. From the middle of the ladder, the son looked back and realized with horror that the bundle was his own eldest son, held in his grandfather’s arms as he prepared to climb the frozen ladder.
“What are you doing?! Have you gone mad?! It’s dangerous!” the son cried.
“You are right, my son,” the father said. “Now you will feel what I felt ten years ago—and you will not say again that I insisted on protecting you for no reason.”
Thanks to Baruch Demirel.
The story was told by Rahamim Demirel, recorded and rewritten by Micha Demirel from the account of Baruch Demirel.