The Boy Who Celebrated His Bar Mitzvah at the Airport
Terminal 4 is the busiest concourse at John F. Kennedy International Airport. Serving over 25 million passengers yearly, the terminal is, by far, the largest and most active hall for departures and arrivals to New York City.
If you enter the airport and head towards security, you’ll find a passionate group of men standing beside a humble information desk. The sign reads “Chabad Air,” and the goal is to offer Jews passing through the airport the opportunity to do a mitzvah.
Somewhere in the crowd, a young man begins his early morning shift. It’s a Sunday morning, and while the rest of the city is still asleep, Menachem Engel and his colleagues are already at the airport bringing inspiration to Jewish passengers.
At the opposite end of the terminal, Spencer bids his parents farwell. In another two hours, his flight will depart for Israel carrying 50 other teenages from his Taglit birthright group. Neither Menachem nor Spencer know that a connection is waiting to occur between them. And under an hour later, it does. The two begin conversing just outside Spencer’s gate. That’s when Menachem learns that Spencer never had a Bar Mitzvah.
That day, Spencer puts on tefillin for the first time in his life. While he recites Shema Yisroel, surrounding passengers watch the spectacle. Many are moved by the experience and request to lay tefillin as well. But a few minutes later, it’s time for boarding. Following a quick thank you, Spencer is off to his flight. Shortly after, Menachem finishes his shift and heads back to Crown Heights. Apart from the selfie they snapped, it seemed that the story would end there.
One year later, Chabad Air has expanded their presence and grown larger in additional airports throughout the country. But it isn’t New York City where the story continues.
Rabbi Kosofsky is a shliach of the Rebbe in Longmeadow, Massachusetts. He also happens to be Menachem Engel’s father-in-law. With a college campus nearby, Rabbi Kosofsky and his wife regularly host students from diverse backgrounds at their Shabbos table. But this Shabbos, something was different. There was a student present who seemed to be fully Torah observant. What was his story? Rabbi Kosofsky would soon find out.
The young man scanned the dining room and noticed some family pictures adorning the walls. “Who is that bearded red-head?,” he asked in surprise, “And why is he in your pictures?”
“That’s my son-in-law, Menachem Engel,” Rabbi Kosofsky replied.
The student was overcome with emotion. It was a year ago that he had traveled to Israel on a seemingly ordinary birthright trip, Spencer explained to Rabbi Kosofsky. A bearded man had approached him and helped him lay tefillin for the first time. The experience moved him to the core and deeply affected his entire trip. A week later, Spencer made the decision to remain in Israel to spend a few months in Yeshiva. “I became a Ba’al Teshuva,” Spencer finished off the story.
Rabbi Kosofsky farbrenged with Spencer, now Shimon*, for many hours past the Shabbos meal. When Shabbos ended, they immediately sent a selfie to Menachem. The connection that sparked between the two young men a year prior was rekindled.
This heartwarming story is one of thousands, many of which may never be told. Menachem Engel is an engineer in New York City. Every Sunday morning, he dedicates a few hours from his busy schedule to offer inspiration to those passing through the airport. The truth is, Menachem has no idea what will happen next or if the brief encounters made an impact on the passengers.
Volunteers at Chabad Air are regular young men – fathers, husbands, bochurim – who could be doing anything else in the world. Instead, they choose to spend precious hours spreading Yiddishkeit to travelers heading in every direction.
There are thousands of individuals like Spencer out there, who are waiting for the opportunity to connect. At Chabad Air, we give their souls a lift before takeoff. Who knows where it will take them next?
Support ChabadAir today!
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