“I Met Bill Outside the Elevator”
A week ago, I met Bill outside the elevator just before Shabbos and asked him if he had any Jewish background, to which he replied that his grandparents were Jewish but converted to escape persecution during world war two. Written by Eliezer Tewel • Full Story
Written by Eliezer Tewel
A week ago, I met Bill outside the elevator just before Shabbos and asked him if he had any Jewish background, to which he replied that his grandparents were Jewish but converted to escape persecution during world war two.
After a few more questions I verified that his mother is Jewish and therefore he is Jewish and quickly offered him to do the mitzvah of Tefillin for the first time, which is a symbolic way of celebrating one’s bar mitzvah.
I asked him to share his part of the story and here it is:
“Hi Eliezer,
I just want to say thanks again for the gift of being blessed by you. What an unusual connection!
What is strange is, years ago I had several dreams where people were telling me, “You’re Jewish.” In fact, what is even weirder is there were dreams where I was told that our family came from the line of David. On one occasion the morning after having one of those dreams I told my wife about It.
We both agreed it was strange and that if there is a reason for the message in the dreams then a witness would be given. It happened to be the Fourth of July and later that day when we got together as a family my uncle unprompted and out of the blue turned to me and my wife and said, “You know… You’re Great Grandmother used to tell us our family is from the line of David.” That gave me and Jenn a shock and laugh.
Apparently, my forebears converted from Judaism to escape persecution during WW II. Learning about the Holocaust and what the Jewish people suffered and endured through caused a strong level of respect and a desire to know more about my Parents heritage.
I read the Bible daily. The morning of our meeting my readings were from Deuteronomy. Quite a fun surprise for you to approach me, ask if I am Jewish and offer to bless me with a prayer from what I read that morning (awesome). I want to thank you for being bold with your faith and for the wonderful blessing. Our connection is one of the more unusual ones I’ve experienced and one of the most memorable.
Thank you and Shalom Eliezer!”
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