| Heavenly Help for a Lonely Soul
Rav Gifter, Rosh Yeshiva of Telz Yeshiva in Cleveland
(1915-1991) was once traveling from Cleveland to Baltimore with
a group of students in order to attend a wedding. The routing
for their flight was through Pittsburgh and the connecting
flight was late. They waited for a long time, until they
realized that they would not arrive in Baltimore until well past
the time of the Chuppah. Rav Gifter decided that they would be
better off boarding the next plane back to Cleveland and passing
up on the wedding altogether. However, since it was getting late
in the day, they decided to daven Mincha [recite afternoon
prayers] at the airport in Pittsburgh.
They did not want to daven in the
middle of the terminal, so they found a fellow with a big ring
of keys who looked like he worked in the maintenance department
and asked him to open up a private room so that they could pray.
The man agreed, quickly found a room for them, and they all
gathered there to daven Mincha. When they concluded the prayers,
the man approached them and asked if someone could teach him to
recite Mourner's Kaddish. Someone helped him recite the Kaddish,
one word at a time.
Rav Gifter inquired of the man the
reason he needed to say Kaddish. The man related the following
story:
"Last week my father died. I come from
an alienated home that observes nothing. However, I had a dream
the other night in which my father appeared to me and told me
that he wanted me to say Kaddish for him. I protested to my
father that I did not know how to say it or even where to go to
recite it. My father told me, during this dream, 'Don't worry.
I'll get you a minyan.'"
His father did get him a minyan!
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