Good Morning, Herr Mueller Printed with permission from "The Chesed Boomerang" by Jack Doueck www.judaicapress.com Near the city of Danzig lived a well-to-do Hasidic Rabbi, (Rabbi Samuel Shapira, Chief Rabbi of the Polish village of Prochnik), scion of prominent Hasidic dynasties. Dressed in a tailored back suit, wearing a top hat, and carrying a walking cane, the Rabbi would take his daily morning stroll, accompanied by his tall, handsome son-in-law. During the Rabbi's morning walk, it was his custom to greet every man, woman and child whom he met on the way with a warm smile and a cordial "Good morning." Over the years the Rabbi became acquainted with many of his fellow townspeople this way and would always greet them by their proper title and name. Near the outskirts of town, in the fields, he would exchange greetings with Herr Mueller, a polish Volksdeutsche (ethnic German). "Good morning, Herr Mueller!" the Rabbi would hasten to greet the man who worked in the fields. "Good morning, Herr Rabbiner!" would come the response with a good-natured smile. Then the war began. The Rabbi's strolls stopped abruptly. Herr Mueller donned an S.S. uniform and disappeared from the fields. The fate of the Rabbi was like that of the rest of Polish Jewry. He lost his family in the death camp of Treblinka and, after great suffering, was deported to Auschwitz. One day, during a selection at Auschwitz, the Rabbi stood on line with hundreds of other Jews awaiting the moment when their fates would be decided, for life or death. Dressed in a striped camp uniform, head and beard shaven and eyes feverish from starvation and disease, the Rabbi looked like a walking skeleton. "Right. Left, left, left!" The voice in the distance drew nearer. Suddenly the Rabbi had a great urge to see the face of the man with the snow-white gloves, small baton and steely voice who played God and decided who should live and who should die. He lifted his eyes and heard his own voice speaking: "Good morning, Herr Mueller!" "Good morning, Herr Rabbiner!" responded a human voice beneath the S.S. cap adorned with a skull and bones. "What are you doing here?" A faint smile appeared on the Rabbi's lips. The baton moved to the right — to life! The following day, the Rabbi was transferred to a safer camp. Years later, the Rabbi remarked about this incident: "This is the power of a good-morning greeting." Return to 'Our Tradition' Menu