My Little Baby

His son Reb Avrohom recounted, "After my regular learning session in my father's home, my father told me that a man and his daughter would soon be coming, and asked me to remain in the room when he received them. I did so, but I was quite surprised, for usually when people came to my father, I would leave so they could speak in privacy. When the two of them entered, Reb Yaakov chatted with them, asking after their welfare, their work, where the father worked, which school the daughter attended, what she learned, and other general questions. During the conversation my father patted me affectionately on the shoulder and introduced me. 'This is my little baby Avrohom,' he said, and he continued the conversation. A few minutes later the visit was over and the two of them left."

Reb Avrohom continued, "I was incredulous. I was nearing the end of my forties, and never had I heard my father call me 'my little baby.' My father turned to me and explained, 'Listen, my son, to what took place here. This father and his daughter, who is the youngest in the family, had a wonderful relationship. He brought her up and educated her in the Torah way, and she accepted and absorbed everything he taught. All was fine until one day the father introduced her to a friend, saying, "And this is my little baby." She felt humiliated by the expression and was deeply hurt, and she refused to speak to her father. He was broken, because he had not meant to degrade her. It was only an expression of affection for his youngest daughter. But she would not be reconciled, and slowly she began to cut off all contact with him.'

"Near despair, the father turned to Reb Yaakov, knowing he was the one to turn to. Reb Yaakov felt the father's pain, and he feared that the girl might even rebel against her father and her Torah upbringing, chas vesholom. He advised the man to bring his daughter to his house on Wednesday. 'That is when I have a shiur with my youngest son, Avrohom,' he said. 'Tell your daughter you have an appointment with me, and if she likes, she may join you.' The daughter was delighted at the privilege of going to Reb Yaakov, and she arrived with her father.

"Some time later the father contacted Reb Yaakov and thanked him profusely for his wise help. He told him that as they left the Rav's house, the girl turned to her father and said excitedly, 'I see, Daddy, that even Reb Yaakov called his son his baby in front of strangers, although he is already a grandfather. Apparently it is an expression of a father's love for his child.' Peace had returned to the man's household."