When the dust settled, they learned they would be feeding 165 travelers

Living Higher

Last week, Jewish news outlets featured the story of a Delta flight bound for JFK that was diverted to Detroit due to inclement weather in New York. The weary passengers alighted to find scores of members of the Detroit community with huge quantities of food waiting for them. Daniel Greenbaum shares his perspective on what transpired and the events leading to the deeply inspiring moment.

“It began at around 11 a.m. when someone posted a screenshot of a Delta app showing that a flight from Israel was being diverted to Detroit,” he shares. “I think the purpose of the post was simply that it was interesting — there are no direct flights from Israel to Detroit.”

But Daniel understood that the interesting tidbit actually came with severe implications.

“These people had no food to eat and nowhere to go,” he said. “I knew we had to do something to help them.” Daniel is close with the owners of Detroit’s Jerusalem Pizza, Brian and Rivka Jacobs.

“I figured that if I could make contact with someone on the plane, I could figure out how much food was needed and work out an order.” Daniel posted the request on local chats: Does anyone know someone on the diverted flight from Tel Aviv? Half an hour later he received a call from Bentzy Schechter, who informed him that he had the contact information of one of the travelers. They made contact and, pretty soon, a WhatsApp chat began and more passengers on the plane joined. This way, Daniel, along with fellow Detroit askanim, could learn of the specific needs of the passengers and provide for them accordingly.

Meanwhile, a sponsor was identified to underwrite the expenses. Fundraising was opened to the community as well, and many contributed generously. “The pizza store owners also said they’d contribute by giving a reduced price,” he said.

When the dust settled, they learned that they would be feeding no less than 165 travelers. “We didn’t care, Jewish, not Jewish, frum, not frum.”

At the time, there was uncertainty as to whether Delta would be paying for hotel stays. The request went out and some 250 beds were offered within a matter of minutes. Ultimately these weren’t needed as Delta did, in fact, pay for hotel stays.

In all, 75 pizzas were brought to the airport — including vegan and gluten-free options. There were also drinks and sandwiches for the following day, as well as toys for the children, diapers, wipes, and formula.

A family of eight had to get to a wedding in New York the following day. A driver was waiting for them in his van.

A woman from Mexico knew only Hebrew and Spanish — no English at all. Daniel spent considerable time on the phone speaking to her son in Mexico, assuring him that his mother would be taken care of.

“This started at around eleven in the morning,” says Daniel. “I didn’t get home until after midnight.”

Little could they know that a week later, there would be no flights from Israel as a ferocious war is waged above its skies. But in Heaven, the act of supreme chesed and the immense achdus it brought about has not been forgotten.

It is surely one of the many zechusim standing at the gates of Eretz Yisrael, barring all harm and repelling all evil.

A Story of Two Hershis 

“I live in Toronto. As avreichim, we don’t always have the money for a flight, so sometimes, driving is the only option. It’s tough — eight hours on the road — but it’s cheaper. That’s exactly what I did a year ago when I drove to my father-in-law in Monsey. I had no idea what a difference that trip would make.”

This was the introduction that Reb Hershi Stark shared at the Friday night seudah at the Dirshu convention in Connecticut. Friday night is one of the high points of the convention, as hundreds of avreichim gather to sing and share their “Dirshu stories.”

This is Reb Hershi Stark’s story: A Torontonian, Rabbi Stark booked a driver to take him to Monsey where his father-in-law lived. “With so much time on the road, you usually talk,” he related to his fellow convention goers, “and since the driver was a chassidic yungerman, it made sense to chat a bit. But I had a big problem: The next day I had a Dirshu test and had to study.”

Rabbi Stark told the driver that regretfully, he wouldn’t be able to chat because he had to study. An awkward silence ensued, and then the driver said, “I understand, but can you study out loud?”

For the next eight hours, that is what Reb Hershi did. It was strange at first, but the driver was listening carefully, as if he were a chavrusa. At one point, Hershi looked up. There were tears on the driver’s cheeks. The drive continued, but so did the Dirshu learning.

Rabbi Stark looked around at the convention attendees and beamed. “Today, the driver, Reb Hershi Kraus, is here with us — as a ‘Dirshu Yid,’ and part of the Dirshu family.”

Overheard

“How everyone is so connected to each other?” 

— Janet Huckabee, wife of American ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee and former first lady of Arkansas, in a conversation with the women who partook in the Agudah Yarchei Kallah in Jerusalem last week, on what amazes her about her host country. Mrs. Huckabee has taken on a public role as the spouse of America’s top diplomat in the region, and in touring the country, remarked how there was one recurring theme: how everyone looks out for each other and cares for each other like one big family.

(Originally featured in Mishpacha, Issue 1102)