A religious Jewish man was on a flight in the 1990’s from London to New York. Late in the afternoon he walked the aisles of the plane asking for volunteers to help make a minyan at the back of the plane for the observant Jews to have their minchah/ maariv or evening prayers. He stopped next to one elderly man and asked him if he were Jewish. The old man said he was. The religious man asked him if he would mind helping make the minyan, the quorum of 10 men needed to say certain prayers. The elderly man refused and became angry and emotional.
“Leave me. I was in Auschwitz. I lost my wife and 4 children in the gas chambers. Where was God?” he shouted. The religious man apologized and moved on. He found another Jewish man and they proceeded with their prayers.
The plane landed in NY and everyone went about their way. 3 months later it was Yom Kippur. The religious man was at his “shtibel”, his neighborhood synagogue standing outside when he recognized the elderly man from the plane walking by.
“How are you?” he enquired as the old man walked past. “I am the man from the plane trip 3 months ago who asked you to make a minyan”
“Oh yes, I remember” replied the old man
“I am very well thanks”
The religious man said “today is Yom Kippur. You told me that you lost your family in Auschwitz. We are about to begin Yizkor (Remembrance) services. Come into shul for a few moments and write the name of your late family on a piece of paper. We will honour them by calling out their names.”
The elderly man thought about it for a moment and agreed. He followed the religious man into the shul and the religious man took the piece of paper to the Rabbi who was about to begin the service.
The Rabbi read the piece of paper and asked the religious man who gave him the piece of paper. The religious man turned around and pointed to the elderly man at the back and said “he did” The Rabbi called the elderly man and after his protestations simmered down, he went up to the Rabbi. The Rabbi held the piece of paper but did not look at it. “Your wife’s name was Sarah? And your 4 sons were Yakov, Moshe, Yosef and Samuel?”
“Yes” said the elderly man
“And they all died in Auschwitz?”
“Yes” said the elderly man
“NO” shouted the Rabbi. I survived”
Son and father met for the first time in-over 45 years Each thought the other had perished. They had been living 5 miles away from each other for many years
And so I pause for Yom Hashoah tomorrow to remember the souls, 6 million of them who never made it
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