Bringing His Son Home
After his son Shmuel passed away in England, Rav Menashe set out to carry him home to Holland for burial.
A story ofRav Menashe Ben Yisrael of Amsterdamהרב מנשה בן יוסף בן ישראלProfile ›
It is told that in the summer of 1657 Rav Menashe was still in London, still waiting for the written permit he had crossed the sea to obtain. His son Shmuel, a printer, had stood beside him through the whole mission and helped with his affairs. Then, in September, Shmuel suddenly passed away.
According to the account, the dying young man had asked his father to bring him home and bury him in Holland. For Rav Menashe, a father who had already lost one son, there was no question. The work in England could wait. He left behind the missions and the audiences and set out to take his son across the sea.
He crossed to the Netherlands bearing the body, but the journey was too much for him. He reached the city of Middelburg, where members of his family lived, and there he fell ill. On 14 Kislev 5418, 20 November 1657, Rav Menashe passed away.
He had not reached Amsterdam, yet he was laid to rest at the Beth Haim in Ouderkerk aan de Amstel. A few months earlier Cromwell had granted him a pension, and he never collected it. What he did carry to the end was a father's promise.
Source: Cecil Roth, A Life of Menasseh ben Israel (Jewish Publication Society, 1934); Steven Nadler, Menasseh ben Israel: Rabbi of Amsterdam (Yale University Press, 2018); Jewish Encyclopedia, s.v. Manasseh ben Israel and Soeira, Samuel Abravanel.
Rav Menashe set aside a great mission to honor one promise to his son. Is there a commitment you made to a family member, a friend or an elderly parent that has slipped down your list? Choose one today. Phone them, set a date, or take the first step toward doing what you said. People rarely forget the promises we keep when it cost us something. Fulfilling one is a small act of kindness, and it brings a blessing into the home.