You hold the keys

This past Shabbos, I attended a lecture on the Ethics of the Fathers and the speaker related a story about a European rabbi and his student. The rabbi was murdered by the Nazis during the war and the student succeeded in emigrating to Israel. After the war was over, the student inquired as to the whereabouts of the rabbi's family and found out that the rabbi's daughter had married a Gentile and her son was studying at a monastery. Efforts to establish communication with the woman through telephone and mail contacts were rebuffed.
Finally, the former student booked a ticket to Europe and ascertained the woman's whereabouts. He knocked on her door, only to have the door opened and slammed on his face. After persistent knocking, he was able to request a glass of water from the woman and a chair to sit for a few minutes. As he got up to leave, he left her with the following words, "I just want you to know. You hold the keys". Met with a perplexed countenance, the student went on to explain. "You have the keys to defeating A.H. Your father wanted that his grandchildren should grow up in his footsteps and retain their Jewishness, while may his name be erased wanted to wipe out the Jews. You hold the keys to defeat him."
To make a long story short, the grandchild of the rabbi is now living in Israel as an observant Jew. I was reminded of this story when I read the article in the Jerusalem Post this week ago entitled, "Three priests" by Donald Snyder. The journalist describes three priests who were born Jewish, but embraced another faith.
I must say, I admire these men's self-confidence. Because one must have to possess oodles of self-assurance to be able to say, "My father didn't know the truth. My grandfather and the generations preceding him were stupid. My ancestors told me they were Jews. Thus, they accepted the truth of their religion as the only one to be followed by people born to the Jewish faith. But, I am smarter than them all and can unequivocally embrace another faith because I am the only one to see the truth."
Furthermore, one must possess great self-confidence to read the words of the Bible exhorting, "...Be fruitful and multiply..." (Genesis 1:28) and to read the words in Deuteronomy 6:7 about the Mitzvah for a father to teach his son Torah: “VeShinantam LeVanecha,” “Teach [Torah] thoroughly to your children” and not heed those words.
"G-d commanded me to bring children into the world and to teach them the Torah, but I am more intelligent. I will remain celibate and cut the branch off of my family tree. I will leave no one to follow in my path, no one to recite Yizkor for me or to do good deeds to elevate my soul, after I am gone from this world."
When the Pope visited Yad Vashem, Israel’s official memorial to the Jewish victims of the Holocaust, the other day, former Chief Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau was on hand to witness the occasion. Rabbi Lau is a survivor of the Buchenwald concentration camp.
To the three subjects of the Jpost article, I say, "You held the keys, just as Rabbi Lau, held the keys. He chose to establish a dynasty of observant Jews, following in their ancestors’ footsteps, and fulfilling their grandparents' dreams. You, as well, held the keys. And you chose to help an evil dictator fulfill his ultimate dream."