“You Know, I Actually Met the Rebbe—Rabbi Scheersohn—Three Times!”

by Rabbi Dan Lewin – Dallas, TX

Before flying back to Dallas, we went to the Ohel. There were lines, and it was incredibly crowded inside the Ohel, so things were taking a little longer than expected. I kept watching the clock as time was getting tight. But there is something so special about the opportunity to pray at the Ohel, and I really didn’t want to rush through it. Our flight out of LaGuardia was at 3:00, and I didn’t finish until 1:30.

By the time we got into an Uber and arrived at the airport, we had less than an hour before our flight. We rushed to the ticket counter, only to discover that the computer wouldn’t let us check in. The flight was already closed.

One of the workers, a Hispanic man, noticed that I was getting stressed. He came over, took the receipt showing that the flight was closed, and said, “Don’t worry. I’ll help you. I’ll get you checked in.”

He went over to the manager at another counter, a woman who was apparently the only person who could override the system. At first, she shrugged her shoulders, unsure if there was anything she could do. Then, suddenly, she exclaimed, “Oh my God! The system is letting me do it!”

But that wasn’t the end of the story.

She looked at us and said, “Baruch Hashem!”

Then she added, “I saw on Facebook that there was a huge convention of rabbis from around the world. Were you part of that?”

I told her a bit about the Kinus, and she wanted to hear more. As I was explaining it, she suddenly said, “You know, I actually met the Rebbe—Rabbi Scheersohn—three times!”

She began describing how he looked at her with his big blue eyes. Then she said, “I also have three dollars that he gave me. I don’t know what I did wrong, or why he keeps giving me money!”

I told her, “No, that’s a blessing! I hope you held on to those dollars.”

Meanwhile, the Hispanic gentleman joined the conversation. “Oh, I know exactly who you’re talking about!” he said, and he too began talking about the Rebbe.

Think about the scene. Just moments earlier, we were in a state of panic, thinking we were going to miss our flight. Suddenly, we found ourselves standing at an airport ticket counter, having a farbrengen of sorts, talking about the Rebbe with two airport employees!

Eventually, the gentleman interrupted the conversation: “You’re late for your flight!”
He then took us to security, opened one of the barriers to let us bypass the line.

Not my finest moment in time management, perhaps, but certainly an unexpected gift. Maybe we were still carrying a little of the light of the Kinus, which helped clear a few obstacles along the way. Another glimpse of the kindness and blessings all around us.