Its not new, but its very good… …
U-Turn
As I was sitting on the plane, I could not help but notice the man on my left. He was consuming a treife cutlet.
As I settled back to wait until he finished eating his meal, I noticed the name on the wrapping covering his treif-as-treif-can-be meal. The name read, Weinstein.
'Excuse me, I don't mean to be rude or offend you, but may I ask you a question?' I asked.
'Sure.'
'You know that you have the option to order kosher meals on this airline?' He then stared at me and replied, 'I don't eat Kosher.'
'What do you mean you don't eat Kosher? Do you mean that in the house yes and out of the house no, or is it just not a big deal to you, or what?'
'None of the above. I don't eat kosher and I don't eat it because G-d said that we SHOULD eat it, and anything G-d says, well, I just do the complete OPPOSITE.'
As if that had not shocked me enough, I then saw a number tattooed in blue ink on his arm as he rolled up his sleeves.
'You really want to know?' he asked me. I said yes and he continued. The funny thing was that he was speaking to me as if there had been a conversation going on in his head all along and he was just turning up the volume.
'It was my son,' he said. 'That was the final straw.I endured everything with equanimity until finally, one day I broke. The entire time in the camps, I had one goal, to see the liberation with my son, Kasriel Menachem. His mother was long gone, as were his brother and sisters, but we were going to survive, I was sure of it. One day, the entire prisoner population was summoned to the assembly area for a special roll call. There was number of trapdoors on the platform to accommodate several simultaneous hangings. During this tirade, my son's hand was squeezing my arm so hard that he almost cut off my circulation. We all stampeded to get out of the line of fire, and my son and I were separated in the frenzy. I never saw his again. Later, I heard from others who knew us, that he had been pulled aside by a soldier and shot.' Brushing the tears from his eyes,
'G-d says 'Have children.' I did, and they were taken away. So now whatever G-d tells me to do, I do the opposite. He says 'Keep kosher'-I eat treife. He says, 'Honor the Sabbath'-I go out in my car. Whatever He says, I do the opposite.'
I could not say anything. Six hours later, we landed in Houston and went our separate ways. I never dreamed that I would see Mr. Weinstein again. Four years later, I decided to take my family to Eretz Yisrael for the Yamim Tovim. We went from place to place visiting the whole country.
Then Yom Kippur came. I attended a Yom Kippur service in a Beit Kneset in Mea Shaarim. I walked outside for some fresh air. I then saw something out of the corner of my eye that shocked me. An elderly man was sitting at the bus stop, and smoking! As I stood there in shock, I suddenly realized that the old man sitting and smoking was my old acquaintance Mr. Weinstein. I realized I was being given another chance.
I approached him and told him, 'Isn't it funny how life will sometime throw two people together and they can't even imagine why? Then years later they cross paths once again, and this time they are able to get a little bit of an idea why they had to meet.I'm sure you know that today is Yom Kippur and they are about to say Yizkor (mention the names of those who have passed away). Come with me so you can mention your son's name, who died for the sake of Kiddush Hashem (for the sake of sanctifying Hashem's name), to the Chazzan. This might be your only chance for your son's name to be remembered. Don't you think that it's time for his soul to be mentioned in the Heavenly court?'
Tears gathered in the corners of his eyes, just waiting to spill over onto his shirt. Clasping his arm in mine, I led him through and up to where the Chazzan stood. I approached him and asked if he would say a special Hashkava. Mr. Weinstein leaned over and whispered, Kasriel Menachem ben Yechezkel Sraga.
The chazzan's face turned a chalky white, and beads of sweat broke out on his forehead. His eyes looked like they would pop out of his head, and he swayed for a second where he stodd. He reached out toward the man standing next to me and called out in a strangled voice, 'Father!'-and he fainted.
Many marriages could have been saved by considering letting go, forgiving, or saying 'I am sorry.' Many relationships can continue by simply forgetting and starting on a new page. Many Gezerot (decrees) could have been cancelled from oneself and all of Am Yisrael by realizing that obstacles and suffering we go through is because 'Our kind father in heaven is expecting me to make a U (you) turn. That U-turn would bring blessing, health, and happiness, for oneself as well as all of Am Yisrael. The father who decided to make a U-turn and enter the Beit Kneset was able to find his lost child that he never imagined he would see again.
Let us all make a little U-turn every day, and save our relationships and marriages, and cancel the troubled decrees from Am Yisrael.
