A Fishy Story
I had occasion to visit the ancient cemetery in Vienna on a trip to Austria. On one tombstone, I was surprised to find, in place of a name, an illustration of a fish.
My escorts told me that the story started hundreds of years back. At that time, the Rav purchased a large fish in honor of Shabbat. As he was cutting it open, he heard a voice saying, “Shema Yisrael, Hashem Elokeinu, Hashem Echad” (Devarim 6:4).
He was overcome with fear, as can be imagined. He realized that a great neshamah had found its home in this fish. He therefore buried the entire fish in the cemetery. Since they had no way of knowing the name of the person whose neshamah resided in the fish, a form of a fish graced the gravestone.
- At the monument of the fish, Austria
Wonder of wonders! This poor neshamah certainly merited a tikkun by proclaiming the Shema, thereby crowning Hashem as King of the world.
