A special soul passed away this week. My dear friend Joe. As a new Rabbi in the Upper East Side, I first met Joe while looking for a space for our community to pray for the High Holidays. Joe had a beautiful facility that was available. One morning, I walked into his office and introduced myself as the new Chabad rabbi looking for a space to pray.
Joe didn’t understand what I wanted from him, and at one point even asked me not to come back to his office. But I was persistent and kept on returning to his office. Finally, Joe looked at me and said, “Rabbi, you got me, and I will give you the space.”
For the last ten years, our Chabad house has been in his building, and I gained a beautiful friendship.
I can recall countless Torah sessions and powerful conversations I had with Joe. I brought him mezuzot for his office and would walk to see him after Rosh Hashanah services to blow shofar for him. Together we would shake the lulav and etrog. We spent Friday night Shabbat dinners together at my house, and I would always ensure he had shmura matzah for Pesach.
One conversation I had with Joe made a profound impact on me. I asked him one day, “Joe, what made you give us a space to use for our shul?”
Joe looked at me and said, “I don't believe in G-d. I don't believe in the afterlife. But if by some small chance there is such a thing called G-d, and if by even a tinier chance there is something called the soul and the afterlife, and if by an even smaller chance there is something called the heavenly court, then if after I pass away and arrive at this heavenly court, and they ask me, ‘Joe did you ever do a Mitzvah?’ I will tell the heavenly court and G-d Himself, I gave Rabbi Vigler and his community a shul to pray in.”
I was deeply moved. We live in a world where G-d hides His face and we cannot see G-d clearly. At that moment, here was Joe’s soul being touched. His soul perceived and understood the truth.
To my dear friend Joe, I assure you there is an afterlife. As you stand this week in front of the heavenly court our community is saying a special prayer for you. Together, we have committed to recite the year of kaddish for you and observe your yahrzeit.
In your beautiful space that is our shul, thousands of mitzvot have been performed these last ten years. Prayers have been read, some whispered, some sung in joyful harmony, and others recited somberly. We have recited blessings over food. We lit the menorah in the winter, and read the megilla each spring. As summer approached, we stayed up all night on Shavuot learning Torah. And as the leaves changed color outside, we blew the shofar on Rosh Hashanah and fasted on Yom Kippur.
In your holy space, people have been inspired, and committed to take on mitzvot that were subsequently performed across the globe. Tefillin were wrapped on thousands of arms, and candles were kindled to welcome in Shabbat. These mitzvot, and thousands more, accompanied you as you arrived this week at the Heavenly Court.
In this beautiful place we are blessed to call our Shul, I will always think of you, my dear friend.
May your soul have an aliyah.
Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi Uriel Vigler