Community Magazine September 2009

80 COMMUNITY MAGAZINE T HIS TIME OF YEAR ALWAYS REMINDS ME of an extraordinary journey I took several years ago. It began as an ordinary business trip. On Monday I flew from Newark to Los Angeles with my friend Ronny to meet potential customers for our new warehousing company. But on Tuesday morning, when we returned to our hotel from shul, the doorman broke the news: the Twin Towers had been hit by jet airliners and were burning. It was, of course, September 11th 2001. As the news continued to come in and video footage showed horrifying scenes of the towers crumbling one by one to the ground, every American undoubtedly remembers the state of shock and disbelief that gripped the entire nation on that fateful day. From an operational standpoint, everything in the country came to a standstill. Car rental companies weren’t renting cars, the trains weren’t running, and there were no flights taking off from anywhere. With Rosh Hashanah beginning Sunday evening, we wondered how we would get home for the holiday – let alone Shabbat. We heard that LAX would be opening late Wednesday afternoon, but that did not guarantee that Newark or any surrounding airports would open to receive flights. We called the airlines all day, receiving no definitive answer. Still, we packed and were ready to go – only to discover that Newark would not open until Thursday afternoon. We considered the other options, but the car rentals and Amtrak lines would also not open until Thursday, and there would not be enough time to make the cross-country journey in time for Shabbat. With little choice, we decided to try to get onto one of the first flights from LA on Thursday afternoon. On Thursday morning, we stopped by a kosher restaurant to pick up some food for our trip. As we stood outside the shop, an older Jewish woman suddenly fell on her face onto the sidewalk right before our feet. I helped her up, gave her something to drink and applied ice to her bruise. Her name was Ms. Goldberg and she was a Holocaust survivor. She told me that she was supposed to meet a friend at the restaurant across the street. I went across to look for her friend, but after polling the whole store I could not locate anyone who was supposed to meet her. Overwhelmed by the thought of an elderly and shaken Holocaust survivor who was there alone, I decided on the spot that I had to take this woman home – even if it meant missing my flight… and Rosh Hashanah with my family. My friend was shocked and thought that I was nuts for risking my way home for a total stranger. I knew I was taking a big chance, but it felt like the right thing to do and my mind was made up. After bringing Ms. Goldberg safely to her home and ensuring that her daughter would be there to care for her, I hurried to the airport, hopeful to make the 3pm flight. When I met up with Ronny, he marveled at the decision I made to risk missing the flight to help an old woman. He said, “Charlie, you’ll see, in the merit of this missva, you will get home in time for Shabbat. Not me, but you will.” At 3:00, we looked at the airport announcement board: Delayed! The flight was rescheduled for 6pm. Three hours later, we looked again at the announcement board: Delayed! It was rescheduled for 7:30 pm. This continued at 7:30 and then again at 9pm. Finally, unable to stand the uncomfortable wait in the crowded airport any longer and realizing that the flight was unlikely to take off anytime soon, Ronny decided to head back to the hotel, while I stayed behind. When the 11pm flight was also cancelled, I walked over to the ticketing desk to ask the agent for advice. Thinking that there was probably not much she could do for me – considering how there were thousands of people at the airport in the same situation as me – I took a shot to see what she had to say anyway. She told me that in her opinion, the New York area airports would not open for several more days, and suspected that the flights would continue to be cancelled due to heightened security in the state. She suggested instead that I take the 1am flight to Chicago and catch the transfer flight to an airport in Philadelphia, which was open to accommodate the Senators and Congressmen who needed to fly to Washington. Once in Philadelphia, she advised, that I figure out a way to drive home (even though rental cars were hard to come by). And that’s exactly what I did. I landed in Chicago and took the flight to Philadelphia. On the two hour flight to Philly, I sat next to a very fine gentleman, and we made some light conversation. When we landed, sometime after 1pm on Friday afternoon, I mentioned that I desperately needed a coffee, but being that I only eat “kosher” I knew it was hopeless. “Go to Starbucks,” he said, “they have kosher coffee.” I didn’t believe him, figuring that this nice Italian fellow wouldn’t understand that I was looking for halav Yisrael. But sure enough, he took me to the coffee shop, asked the woman to give me coffee and instructed her to use rice milk from a sealed container. Then he even made sure to show me the Kaf-K certification on the carton! My next problem was figuring out how to get home or reach my car which was parked in Sayreville, New Jersey. When the gentleman heard my dilemma, he said, “I live in Northern New Jersey and I don’t mind driving you to your car.” Though I had my coffee, having been awake for some 30 consecutive hours, I thankfully accepted his generous offer. About two hours later I got to my car and drove as quickly and as I safely could to my home in Lakewood, arriving around 5pm, just in time to get ready for Shabbat. I even managed to make it to the cleaners in time to pick up my holiday clothes (which made my wife very happy), since the Jewish dry cleaner was going to be closed until after Rosh Hashanah! Throughout this experience, I felt like I was in a maze. Everywhere I turned, an obstacle seemed to be standing before me. But at the same time, I felt the hashgaha peratit (divine providence) guiding me through each step of the way. And in the end, as Ronny predicted, I believe that it was through the merit of the small kindness of taking Ms. Goldberg home and risking my own chance to get home, that I was the one who made it back in time for Shabbat. Rabbi Shaul (Charlie) Semah, Lakewood, NJ Your Stor ies of Ever yday Miracles ON WINGS OF EAGLES