The Short Vort by Rabbi Eisenman

"I will not allow that picture to be hung in my home."

This proclamation was heard for years from the mouth of Baila Kleinbaum*.

The picture under review did not depict a place or person one would consider objectional.

There were no women in the portrait, and nothing was deemed inappropriate.

Rather, it was a portrait of Beryl Klienbaum, her husband's great-grandfather, who passed away in 1968.

R' Beryl's children had commissioned an artist to paint an oil painting of their father when he was eighty.

They presented it to him on his 80th birthday. 

The portrait originally hung in Beryl's home.

After he was niftar, it made its way from father to son to grandson and was now bequeathed to his great-grandson.

Avrohmi, great-grandson of Beryl, received the portrait years ago.

Yet, despite his desire to hang in the living room, his pleas fell on deaf ears.

His wife was adamant about it not being hung. 

What was so controversial about the portrait?

After all, R' Beryl was a great Baal Tzedoka, learned Chok L'Yisroel daily, never missed a Minyan, and raised his children B'Derech HaTorah.

Why was Baila so adamant in her refusal?

"He has no Yarmulke. We can't hang a picture of a Yid without a Yarmulka, even if it's your Zaide", Baila declared.

"Of course, he is wearing a Yarmulke! 

Zaide had black hair, and because the top of the portrait was dark, you could not see it clearly.

 My Zaide always wore a Yarmulke. It's true that back in the 50s, he did 

not wear it in the office. However, he would never allow a portrait of him without a Yarmulke." Avrohmi pleaded.

"I cannot allow it to hang in my house. It will hurt the children's Shidduch prospects." Baila retorted.

Avrohmi, not wanting to destabilize what was -besides this issue- a wonderful

 marriage, resigned himself to having Zaide's picture relegated to the garage.

Years went by, and Avrohmi and Baila's children found fine Shidduchim. 

They now had an empty nest.

Yet, Baila remained steadfast in her refusal to hang the portrait.

One day, Malki, the Kleinbaum's five-year-old granddaughter, came running to her grandmother in tears.

"I am so sorry; I didn't do it on purpose. I promise," Malki cried.

"Sheyfela, don't worry; Bubby is not upset with you. What happened?"

Malki could not get the words out fast enough. "We were playing near that old picture of the old man. Suddenly, Moishe decided to see if he could lift it up. I grabbed his hand, and the picture fell on the corner of the chair, and it got a hole!" It was an accident!"

Baila jumped from her chair and bounded down the steps to the garage.

There was the portrait of R' Beryl with a hole in the canvas.

Baila was beside herself.

She never allowed it to be hung, and now it was ruined. 

She quickly decided she had to somehow fix it before Avrohmi found out.

She remembered that her friend Faigy told her about someone who restored old art pieces; maybe he could help.

After a quick phone call, Baila carefully loaded the picture in her car and hand-delivered it to the art restoration studio.

He told her it could be fixed and done in two weeks.

During those two weeks, Baila said extra Tehillim so her husband would not find out.

Thankfully, the two weeks passed uneventfully. Baila felt relieved when the restorer called to say that the portrait was ready.

The restorer brought out the picture and unwrapped it.

As he unwrapped, he casually mentioned, "These old oil paintings are all from homes saturated with cigarette smoke. I call it second-hand-smoking-shmutz. Everyone smoked back then.

I cleaned it up for you.

It was due for a cleaning; you can now see his Yarmulke very clearly."

Baila saw what was now obvious, her husband was right all along.

There was his great-grandfather with a huge black yarmulka on his head. 

But Baila could not hear one word of what the restoration man was saying.

She stood there in awe, staring at R' Beryl.

She thought of all the years she had wrongly denied her husband and family of seeing the portrait of the family patriarch. 

She just stood there, speechless and filled with guilt. 

Sometimes it may take years or sometimes even decades. 

However, ultimately, the Master Painter always ensures his masterpieces get the 

recognition they deserve.