“Every so often I would advertise the lost tallis in various places, but to no avail”

The tallis my cousin Martin wears doesn’t look special; it’s standard issue and stored in a faded blue velvet bag. But at a recent bris in Manchester, England, he shared with me the story of how it came into his possession.

Before beginning his story, Martin opened the bag and pointed at a name printed in ink just under the zipper: Sydney Burton.

This was the man Martin knew as his grandfather. His biological grandfather had died before Martin was born, and his grandmother remarried Sydney Burton of Glasgow, Scotland. Grandpa Sydney passed away 25 years ago.

That would seem to explain how Martin inherited the tallis — but the route it took was a bit more roundabout than that.

A few weeks earlier, Rabbi Dovid Tugendhaft, rav of Beis Hamedrash Nishmas Yisroel in Hendon, London, posted a hashavas aveidah appeal on WhatsApp: Does anyone know Sydney Burton? I have his tallis.