Beloved rebbi Rabbi Nosson Neuberger fulfilled the mandate of kiddush Hashem in a most powerful way

IT

was just two weeks ago that we read the words “v’nikdashti b’soch Bnei Yisrael — and you shall sanctify Me among the Children of Israel.” On a JetBlue flight from Westchester to Florida, beloved rebbi Rabbi Nosson Neuberger fulfilled the mandate of kiddush Hashem in a most powerful way.

The flight was not going well. It began with a one-hour delay, followed by an additional half-hour delay for a fuel refill. The plane finally took off, but then had to land in Tallahassee. A storm had broken out, and they would need additional fuel to circumnavigate it. But there was no JetBlue crew in Tallahassee, so they had to wait until personnel could arrive from Tampa. The passengers, suffice it to say, were unhappy.

There were two facets to Rabbi Neuberger’s kiddush Hashem, in a manifestation of mitzvah goreres mitzvah. First, Rabbi Neuberger noticed an elderly fellow whom he suspected was Jewish. He invited the man to take the empty seat beside him, and the two got to talking.

“Yes, I am Jewish,” the man confirmed. “My name is Mark but my Hebrew name is Asher.”

Rabbi Neuberger asked him if he would like to learn b’chavrusa, and Mark delightedly consented. He had never learned Torah before.

Then, Rabbi Neuberger, noting the deep discontent of the passengers, decided to channel his inner rebbi, and spread some Jewish joy to the overwhelmingly non-Jewish crowd.

“Who wants a hundred dollars?” he called out.

Heads lifted and turned toward him. People were smiling, their intrigue piqued.

“Let’s play Simon Says,” Rabbi Neuberger announced.

He proceeded to engage the delighted passengers in a vigorous game of Simon Says, commanding them to place their hands on their heads while he demonstrated the instruction by placing his hands on his shoulders. One by one, the participants failed, and the dollar figure continued to drop until it reached fifty.

Finally, one single mom remained standing, but then, even she flunked. Nonetheless, Rabbi Neuberger handed her forty dollars, and everyone cheered.

A video of this performance was posted online and received tens of thousands of views.

And who took the video? None other than Rabbi Neuberger’s newfound chavrusa, Mark.

Or rather, Asher.

Overheard

The pasuk says Keil nekamos Hashem — Hashem is the one who takes revenge. We think that we’re the ones who need to fight Iran? The Eibeshter will fight Iran. The Eibeshter is the one who takes nekamah, and He will take nekamah.

—Rav Malkiel Kotler shlita, speaking at Shalosh Seudos held at a special Shabbos event held in honor of the Adirei Torah program. The following day, Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi was killed in a helicopter crash.

Photo: Jeff Cohn Photography

The Most Important Vote

“Kedushah doesn’t spread by itself. Tumah spreads by itself. And we all vote with our feet. When we decide we need to have the newest type of car, shop only in the upscale stores, we are voting with our feet. And if there are families that are struggling because they live in a community where the lifestyle has high expectations, the people who are guilty are the people who are responsible for creating those expectations. Tumah spreads by itself, but we need to actively spread kedushah by creating a different ruach, a ruach of histapkus, a ruach where the ikar is frumkeit. And if we don’t say, as a chaburah, ad kan — we don’t need to own another summer home, pay for upkeep and rental — it will continue to go downhill…. The kol has to come out from us, those who take Yiddishkeit seriously enough to take off a day to learn Torah, to listen to shiurim l’Sheim Shamayim, that we are ready to cut down on the extravagant expenditures.”

–Rav Yisroel Reisman, speaking at Agudah Maryland’s H3 Mid-Atlantic Business Halacha Summit

(Originally featured in Mishpacha, Issue 1013)