This Sunday afternoon I had the privilege to meet Marc. I don't even know his last name, but I know that he taught me a lesson that I'll never forget in what "commitment" means!
Marc is 56 years old, was born and bred in communist Russia, and never had a Bris. He's been living in Solon the past 20 years, has been learning about his Jewish heritage with Rabbi Zushe Greenberg of Chabad Solon, and just "felt" that his Jewish identity was not complete with having a bris. So, on a regular Sunday afternoon, with the help of an anesthesiologist and a surgeon, he had his Bris. Several times throughout the procedure, we explained to him what was going to next. Each time he responded with a smile, "It's OK, this is what I need to do! Don't worry about it!"
On Wednesday morning, Cleveland lost a great leader and pioneer in Jewish education. Rabbi N.W. Dessler, the founder and principal of the Hebrew Academy for almost 70 years, passed away. Two of his three sons accompanied him to his final resting place in Jerusalem. They were supposed to catch a connecting flight to Cleveland out of Newark airport this morning, allowing them to join the rest of their family after the Thursday morning Shivah prayer service. Unfortunately, due to a storm in New Jersey the airport was closed and their flight could not land in Newark. Their plane was rerouted... To which city? Cleveland, of course!!! Why Cleveland? The airport recently expanded their runway system to accommodate larger planes, making Cleveland one of the few airports that can easily land a 747...! Now the family was united for this morning's prayer service as well. I overheard somebody quip this morning: "I guess Rabbi Dessler wanted his entire family to say Kaddish together this morning!"
What's the connection between these two stories? To me the Rabbi Dessler story is a lesson in "Hashgachah Pratis," or Divine Providence. Who knows what the power of a Mitzvah is? Perhaps the merit of Rabbi Dessler educating Jewish children for 70 years gave him special "pull" in Heaven and opened this window of Divine Providence for his family. And I'm sure that Marc's merit, to have the opportunity, will, and fortitude to undergo a Bris at his stage of life, is also due to Divine Providence. Some merit, mitzvah, encounter, or sequence of events, led him to this journey. Perhaps not open Divine Providence, but maybe the story is not over. Maybe we will never learn the rest of the story…? But I assure you, it is there. Have a wonderful week and a wonderful Shabbos!
