"I Have No Other Father" Among the many legends of how Jews
braved all odds in order to reach Eretz Yisrael is one with a
most important lesson. Rabbi Yeshaya Bardaky was the son-in-law
of Rabbi Yisrael of Shklov, an outstanding disciple of the Gaon
of Vilna. He eventually became the leader of the Parushim
community in Yerushalayim made up of the Gaons followers. The
ship on which he traveled to the Holy Land from Europe together
with his two young children was wrecked by a storm and sank. No
lifeboat was available so he told his children to climb on his
back and he would make a desperate swim to safety. After a
couple of hours of such strenuous swimming, he felt that he
could no longer continue carrying the weight of both children
and asked one of them to let go. When he tried to explain to
this child why she had to let go, they both wept at what this
implied. But, then the little girl cried out "But Abba, I have
no other father!" Upon hearing these words Reb Yeshaya told her
to hold on again and made a supe