I recently completed a wonderful Yom Kippur. I was invited to join a special minyan in the home of Moshe (and Eliza) Skoczylas who was injured in an accident and is housebound as he undergoes several surgeries. Just being there with Moshe was overpowering. His life could have ended there on the highway, but instead he was blessed with injuries that, please God, will eventually heal. Equally amazing is the commitment of people who love their neighbor and were anxious to join a minyan in his home. The small number was because most people were told not to attend, to ensure adequate space for those who were there and to minimize the small risk of infection that would be increased with a larger gathering. I am very grateful to have been a part of that group.
The Minyan was made up of about 13 men. It was a special experience being in a small group of people, all intent on helping out someone on the mend and making their Yom Tov inspiring as they did. I missed the very large group in a shul, and the beauty of so many voices blending together in tefillah. But in its place I received something even more significant. I was able to daven with people, all intently focusing on being there for their neighbor and very much into Yom Kippur. As the Rav in a somewhat small Shteibel in Montreal for many years, I very much enjoyed sharing Yomim Tovim with people of very different backgrounds and was often the source of whatever inspiration I was able to inject into the minyan. But this experience was much different.
It was rewarding to join into something so unlike whatever I experienced in the past. Moshe inspired us, discussing his experiences with his accident. But even more so was just being with people who were truly davening. I’m not sure if people are aware of the Bracha they have been given–being part of an amazing community that is in one way or another, committed to the tradition that has been with us from the beginning of our peoplehood.
In some way the wonder that I participated in, goes beyond even our people. With all its terrible problems, we are part of life and a world that is marvelous (though at the same time frightening) beyond description. And for that, I thank G-d. I look forward to Sukkot and the winter and the fall and all that Hakodesh Baruch Hu has blessed me and all of us with. And if we need another reason to feel the awe of life, check out the front page article in this past Sunday’s N.Y. Times about the special needs couple who were just recently married. For all the horrible drawbacks in its endless attacks on Israel in the TImes, this article was wonderful.
Whatever the future holds, thank God! A Gmar Chasimah Tovah.
Please feel free to contact me regarding this (or any) topic. You can do so anonymously by writing to [email protected] Dr. Glick was a clinical psychologist in private practice for 35 years and rabbi of Congregation Ahavat Yisrael in Montreal. If you would like to submit a question, or contact him for an appointment, he can be reached at [email protected] or by calling him at 201-983-1532.
By Rabbi Dr. Mordechai Glick
