His donning tefillin at all took immense effort — and here he wished to don a second pair

Living Higher

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michai Schindler, a resident of Kerem Shalom who miraculously survived the horrific attacks on Simchas Torah two years ago, was left severely injured. A story recently made public reveals the unlikely bond between him and a chassidic rosh yeshivah, forged through his path to recovery.

When Amichai was in the hospital, there was a constant stream of visitors: celebrities, politicians, and caring Yidden who were there to help alleviate the pain, to make the patients’ stay a bit easier. One of the visitors asked Amichai if he had a “dream visitor,” to which Amichai admitted that yes, it would be most meaningful for him if he would be able to converse with a talmid chacham who he had encountered some years prior and whose presence exuded ahavas Yisrael.

It was the rosh yeshivah of Yeshivas Pnei Menachem, Rav Shaul Alter. The message was duly relayed to Rav Alter and before he knew it, the chassidishe Rosh Yeshivah was walking down the hospital corridor, coming to see his new friend. Amichai, a talmid chacham in his own right, developed a relationship with the Rosh Yeshivah, which continued even after Amichai left the hospital and rehab center.

Recently, Amichai posed a question to the Rosh Yeshivah. Not long before, he had received a pair of Rabbeinu Tam tefillin: Should he make the brachah of shehechayanu upon them? The Rosh Yeshivah grew deeply emotional by the question, as both Amichai’s hands had been blown off by an explosive during the attack. His donning tefillin at all took immense effort — and here he wished to don a second pair.

Not long thereafter, Amichai received an invitation to visit Rav Alter. The purpose? To don the pair of Rabbeinu Tam tefillin that had belonged to the Rosh Yeshivah’s father, the holy Pnei Menachem, who wore them only twice a year. The Rosh Yeshivah felt he wasn’t on the level to use them himself and kept them only to safeguard the exalted pair.

“You have to be on a certain madreigah to wear these,” he told Amichai, “and I’m not there. But you,” he said, motioning for Amichai to open up the tefillin bag, “you are.”

The Greatest Incentive

Forty-two years ago, in 1983, a young Ari Soshtain sat in Rabbi Scharhon’s 5th grade class at Yeshiva of South Shore. Bright but restless, Ari was beloved by his rebbi, yet he only managed to earn a few of the highly coveted TICs — Torah Incentive Coupons awarded for exceptional learning.

Still, he pressed on, completing his years at Yeshiva of South Shore and moving on to mesivta and beyond. Life had already brought its challenges: Just a few years earlier, Ari had lost his father, Rabbi Moshe Soshtain, a talmid of Rav Moshe Feinstein.

Through determination and resilience, Ari carved his own path in Torah and avodas Hashem, eventually receiving semichah from Rav Dovid Feinstein. Today, he leads a vibrant kehillah in his hometown of Woodmere — Khal Vayigdal Moshe — a flourishing makom Torah where Rabbi Soshtain serves as rav and role model to scores of families.

And yet, he never forgot where he came from. This week, in a moving homecoming, Rabbi Mordechai Kamenetzky, rosh yeshivah of YOSS, welcomed Rabbi Soshtain back to his alma mater — now housed in the magnificent Friedman Family Building.

Stepping into his 5th grade classroom, Rabbi Soshtain was flooded with memories of his first year of Gemara. With a smile, he said, “Rebbi, you know, I never did get enough TICs.”

With a grin that spanned four decades, Rabbi Scharhon reached into his drawer and handed his former talmid the very prize he had once missed: a full set of Torah Incentive Coupons.

At long last, the restless boy was rewarded — not just for his classroom effort, but for decades of perseverance, growth, and dedication to spreading Torah.

Wheels of Fortune

A Lakewood family whose son, Tuvia, had been in a car accident and was wheelchair-bound for some time, was recently able to celebrate a seudas hoda’ah. Tuvia had recovered and was now out of the wheelchair. They felt they should use this opportunity to perform a mitzvah and decided to donate it to the local Bikur Cholim organization. When they arrived at Bikur Cholim they noted another car, parked outside. What are the odds, they thought, that she’s here for a wheelchair — and in exactly this size?

As they carried the wheelchair inside, it became clear that the woman was, indeed, about to receive the exact same size chair but the one available was older, and worn out. Without hesitation, Tuvia’s father said, “Here. Take this one instead. I’m donating it right now. When you’re done, just bring it back and let them know it’s new.”

One mitzvah leads to another. One chesed leads to another.

(Originally featured in Mishpacha, Issue 1079)