He may been in a strange land but as a Yid, this bochur had the best connections of all

Photo: Sharon Hahn Darlin

When a bochur on his way back to the US from Eretz Yisrael made a brief stopover in LISBON, PORTUGAL, he was asked to present his negative PCR test in order to  board his connecting flight. He produced his test, but the Spanish speaking official looked at the Hebrew letters quizzically — and promptly denied him access to the connecting flight. The boy’s distraught mother reached out to Chaya Chava Shulman of Agudah’s Constituents Department, who connected them to Rabbi Eli Rosenfeld, the Chabad shaliach in Lisbon. Upon hearing that a fellow Jew needed help, Rabbi Rosenfeld loaded up his car with kosher food and made the two-hour drive to the airport. Once there, Rabbi Rosenfeld helped the bochur secure a flight for the next morning, and booked him a hotel room near the airport. He may been in a strange land and missed his connecting flight, but as a Yid, this bochur had the best connections of all.

(Originally featured in Mishpacha, Issue 906)