I called the Archive, Pyrenees Atlantique at Pau, immediately, talking to the supervisor. It needs to be understood that Archives in France in general may not give out information, certainly not over the phone. If they do at all then only to persons who can prove that they have a legitimate right to the information.

The Lord granted me exceptional favor, which I am positive is due to the steadfast prayers of Or Tzion’s prayer team. Not only did the supervisor take the time to search for possible files of my grandfather even though Rosh Hashanah was upon us; having indeed found a dossier in his name and informed me of its contents, she agreed to send me copies of the dossier’s contents to Stéphane’s address.

I was elated! 

After the let-down on September 4th the news contained in the dossier wholly made up for it. Completely new information was forthcoming and one major point of importance: the dossier closed the gap between my maternal grandfather and me! While the papers already in my possession may not have withstood a court battle over the book, together with the papers in the dossier they would stand in any court of law.

Grandfather was the firstborn of his generation and family and hence the heir. In the dossier his parents are named as well as my mother. I am holding a copy of his birth certificate in which his parents are named, and a copy of my mother’s. 

According to G-d’s commandments in Torah, when a man has died and has no sons but only daughters, then his inheritance is to pass to his daughters⁹. My mother was my grandfather’s only child, and I am her only child, because my brother died in infancy. Hence the inheritance of the firstborn passes to me and from me to my sons, speak to the firstborn son.

Yizrael is a Spirit-filled disciple of Messiah Yeshua and loves our people with great devotion and compassion. He even was crowned “king” at the age of 18, when he won the title “Melech ha yophi” (beauty king) at Israel’s first such contest. The Israeli papers lauded him as “Israel has again a king” while not in the least aware of his family background. He felt thoroughly embarassed, but I pondered the whole thing as significant the more, as the following year’s contest was a complete failure and has not been repeated since.

Yizrael was and remained the only “Melech ha yophi” in Israel. And I trust that the Lord will use this young man in the raising up of the ruins of the sukkah of David that it may become the “ohel of David” to which shall return the only and true King of Israel, Yeshua HaMashiach!

Lest I keep repeating myself unnecessarily regarding this divine promise and Scriptural prophecy, please visit the following pages and study the listed Scriptures: www.ortzion.org/gospel11.html and page 12;  www.ortzion.org/news46_4.html; www.ortzion.org/calndr_end3.html, endnote "r"; and www.ortzion.org/finalyears3.html; ^Y

The custom of symbolically casting the sins into a running stream presumably dates from the fourteenth century, mentioned for the first time in Sefer Maharil by Rabbi Jacob Moelin (1355-1427), the leading Jewish authority of his time. Without going any further into the Midrashic tales, the name “Tashlik”/ (“thou wilt cast”) is derived from Micah 7:19.

Because of the rise of anti-Semitism in France only few groups made their way to the canal, and many did not wear their kippah until they stood by the canal praying. It was the first time for Stéphane, Raphaelle and me to observe this custom, and while I thanked the Lord for His salvation in Yeshua I cast “my sins” (symbolized by pieces of bread) with zeal backwards over my shoulder into the canal, thinking also of Isaiah 38:7.

Afterwards we went for a walk along the canal where, it being Sunday, no vehicles were allowed to drive. People were frolicking all along the canal, enjoying a juggler doing his tricks and musicians in the nearby park performing their songs. We walked across a partially painted street, the work of art students from the school of arts on the other side of the canal, and tried to stay out of the way of roller skaters. The canal is framed by trees and both old and new houses with beautiful iron work on windows and balconies. As we came to a bridge crossing over the canal just then a barge was being lowered into the next section of the canal. We joined the crowd watching with great interest. The barge even had a “garden” of a green carpet with a table and chairs on it and potted flowers along the carpet’s sides.

As we walked along the other side of the canal we would at regular intervals catch up with the barge as it took time to lower it from section to section. Eventually we came to a bridge that opened from side to side to let the barges pass, and now came another barge from the opposite direction, going up level to level, its deck “guests” being 2 ducks, a rooster and 3 different kind of chickens J

Oh, this whole day and experience had been most enjoyable! The Lord had provided a most wonderful way to yet get to observe Rosh Hashanah, although not in synagogue or among Messianics.

On Saturday Stéphane and I attended the memorial ceremony for convoy # 29 at Drancy, Klarsfeld’s right-hand man taking us again. This time were at least 30 people attending, some of whom were trembling and weeping worse than I did. I went up again to read a page of the names of the deported, many being German often badly pronounced with the French accent. I wanted their names to be pronounced correctly.