Kol Nidrei in the Forest Days and months passed in the muddy trenches of the battlefield. Zalman Bronshtein lay motionless, rifle cocked against the German enemy only hundreds of feet away. He thought about his wife and three children. The thought of his family gave him the strength to survive the horrors of war.
For a year, a bloody war waged between Russian forces and the German enemy. Tens of thousands of young people had already paid with their lives. And there was no end to the fighting in sight .
His shift over, Zalman crept carefully to the bunker. Once inside, he lay down and tried to get some sleep before being sent back to his post.
Unexpectedly, a high ranking officer entered the bunker. He began to shave, all the while singing a song. Zalman opened his eyes. Why had the officer decided to shave in the bunker of the lower ranks, Zalman wondered. However, what bothered him even more was that the officer was singing the song all wrong! Zalman could not resist,
and he called out to the officer, " Comrade Officer , the original song is sung a little differently ..."
The officer turned to him in surprise. "You know the song? If yes, you must sing it!" Zalman was hardly in the mood to sing. Nor did he have the strength for such pursuits. Try as he might, his excuses were ineffective.
And so, he sang the joyous song as the officer listened with evident pleasure.
When finished, the officer began to grumble about the Russian army. "How can they send a gifted singer to the front lines? It's wrong, it's immoral! Today I will bring up the matter at headquarters!"
Weeks went by. Zalman's routine continued as before and he forgot about the officer and his offer. He was preoccupied with fighting, fire bombs and mortal danger. More then once Zalman was sure that he owed his life to a miracle. Whenever he was on the front-lines, he always had the image of his Rebbe, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn
of Lubavitch, before his eyes.
And he felt confident, knowing that the Rebbe was praying for him.
One day a message came over the radio. "Who is the singer Bronstein?" He appeared before the bunker officer immediately, who told him, "I was ordered to send you to Headquarters. Take your things and head there immediately. But be careful! Any wrong move could be fatal."
With his heart full of fear, Zalman made his way to Headquarters. Only when he was transferred to the officers in charge of the military choir did he remember the officer whom he had sung for a few weeks earlier.
He was asked to sing for a group of senior commanders. Zalman knew that if he was successful in impressing the commanders, he could be relieved of his position as a soldier on the front lines. He began to sing the Russian song again, this time with more emotion.
The officers were beside themselves with admiration. They began to argue over who would have Zalman with their company. His singing would surely raise the morale of the soldiers. Finally it was decided that he would rotate, performing in front of many different military companies.
Zalman moved from base to base. Commanders and officers were now his close comrades; he was a source of pride for Jewish soldiers. During one concert he even got a note from a Jewish officer with a request for "something in Yiddish." He did indeed sing a Yiddish song that was well received and that reminded the Jewish soldiers of their homes and families.
A date was set for an important performance. It would be in front of hundreds of military doctors. Zalman was shocked when he realized that the date chosen was the day of Yom Kippur. Zalman was determined that he would not participate or perform on the holiest day of the year.
On the morning of Yom Kippur, Zalman notified the music director that he was not well. He had severe pain in the head and throat and he would not be able to sing that day. The director tried to pressure him but in vain.
There was no choice and the show went on without him.
Zalman sat in his room, absorbed in the prayers of the day of Yom Kippur, from what he remembered by heart. After praying he began reciting psalms.
There was singing in the background and the military band could be heard performing.
Suddenly there was a loud knock on the door and three military officers entered. "Are you Bronstein the singer?" they asked and immediately continued, "Do you know what today is?" Zalman was scared but he braced himself and answered confidently, "Yes, today is Yom Kippur ."
Their faces softened and a quiet plea was heard from them. "We are Jews.
Could you sing for us some excerpts from the prayers of today's holy day?"
Zalman explained, "How can I sing? I officially notified them I'm not well and unable to sing!"
The officers had an idea. They would go with him behind the camp where there was a dense forest. There, in the forest, he would be able to sing the prayers without anyone hearing.
Zalman felt their excitement, and realized how anxious they were to recall their parents' homes and the yearning for the Jewish life they had experienced in their childhood.
There, in the forest, behind the thick curtain of trees, Zalman stood facing the three officers. He closed his eyes and began to chant the prayer of the Kol Nidrei with its traditional tune. He ended Kol Nidrei and continued to the Unsanah Tokef.
In the midst of this terrible war, the future outcome of which remained unknown, three Jewish souls stood in the forest with the spark of the Jewish soul burning with the fire of this holy and awesome day.
Zalman finished with a final prayer: "Hear O Israel, the Lord our God...
He is our Saviour and He will redeem us."
Zalman opened his eyes to a sight that he would never forget: three officers with their eyes closed weeping like babies. "Now I understand," he thought to himself, "the Divine Pprovidence in sending that officer into my bunker that morning singing a song."
After the war, Rabbi Zalman Bronshtein immigrated to Israel where he was a founding member of Kfar Chabad. During the High Holidays he served as the cantor in the village's main synagogue
