Weekly Chasidic Story #967(s5776-39 / 2 Sivan 5776).

From the desk of Yerachmiel Tilles editor@ascentofsafed.com

A Scroll and a Menorah for Adelaide

"The Qantas Airline pilot looked at me, looked at the precious Torah in my hands, and gave me a big grin."

Connection: Seasonal - Shavuot, the giving of the Torah

A Scroll and a Menorah for Adelaide

It was the night before Rosh Hashana. My teenage son Mendel [Gordon] was excited but a bit apprehensive. He was scheduled to fly from Melbourne to Adelaide (capital of the province South Australia), a one-hour flight, to help Rabbi Yossi Engel for the High Holidays. This was the first time he would be going to Adelaide, and he was asked to bring a Torah scroll.

"Ma," he asked, "what if the airline gives me trouble about taking the Torah on the plane? I've heard that they've become very strict lately. I don't want to have to send it with the luggage."

I tried to reassure him. I reminded him of the time his father had taken a Torah scroll to Tasmania, and how the non-Jewish man sitting next to him on the plane was so excited to see the Torah that he offered to drive him wherever he wished to go upon landing.

"But that was years ago, before all these security regulations. I've been told that the airline might give me a hard time."

There wasn't much I could answer, so I wished him success and reminded him that he was acting as the emissary of the Lubavitcher Rebbe and that he had the Rebbe's blessings.

The next afternoon, in the midst of a flurry of preparations for Rosh Hashana, Mendel called to tell me how things had gone.

"You won't believe what happened. As I walked through the airport, people came over to kiss the Torah and wish me a 'Shana Tova' (a good year). When I got to the gate, however, the Qantas airline employee asked if I was planning on carrying that large item into the cabin. She wanted it to go underneath with the luggage. I explained that this is a very holy object, and I must carry it on board with me. She said that she's not sure if this could be allowed.

"I waited to see what would happen, knowing I had tried my best and the rest was in G-d's Hands. A few minutes later she called me over. 'Go down the corridor and through that door. Someone wants to talk to you.' A man in a pilot's uniform was waiting for me. I wondered what would happen next. The pilot looked at me, looked at the precious Torah in my hands, and gave me a big grin. 'Shana Tova! he said, 'I'm Mordechai. Shall we put the Torah in the cockpit next to my tefilin?'"

It turned out that Mordechai, a.k.a. Captain Mark DiVeroli, probably the only commercial pilot in Australia who flies with his talit and tefilin next to him, just "happened" to be flying the plane my son was taking.
Even though Mordechai offered to keep the Torah in the cockpit, Mendel preferred to hold it for the duration of the flight or keep it next to him. Mordechai agreed, and arranged for Mendel to have a spare seat next to him for the Torah. After landing, the pilot told Mendel that he'd be back in Melbourne in time for Rosh Hashana, and that he would be at the shul of Rabbi Motty Liberow, the Chabad Rabbi of "Hamerkaz Shelanu Community."

Mordechai also told him that he usually stays in the cockpit before the flight, and for some reason this time decided to walk over to the galley, where he heard the cabin crew talking about the Jewish boy who wanted to bring a large holy object onto the plane. "If I had stayed up front as I usually do, I would not have known about it," he said, "and I could not have helped."

"Well," I thought to myself, "G-d has a way of sending us little love notes to let us know that He is always with us. I must share this story of my son."

As soon as we finished speaking, I called the rabbi's wife in Melbourne, Dini Liberow, and told her what had happened. Imagine the pilot's surprise when Rabbi Liberow told the story to his congregation that Rosh Hashana, and then pointed to Mordechai, sitting among them, as the hero of the story.

After Mendel came back to Melbourne, he kept in touch with Mordechai the pilot. Before Chanuka, he called him to ask if he wanted a menora sign for his car. Mordechai was happy to comply. "I was actually involved many years ago in the Rebbe's menora campaign," he said. "I used to live in Adelaide, working for a small airline company. I had always dreamed of getting a job with a large commercial airline like Qantas, but I never managed to get an interview.

"One year, about 20 years ago, a yeshiva student came to Adelaide to put up a public menora. The student needed someone to help him out, and as I always had my day off on Wednesdays, I was happy to volunteer. I didn't know much about Chabad or the Rebbe, but it sounded like a nice idea for a place like Adelaide. I mentioned to my boss that I was planning to help put up a public menora on Wednesday, my day off. 'Don't count on it,' he said, 'I want you to come in to work this Wednesday.'

"'But I made a commitment, because I always have Wednesdays off!' I pleaded.

"'If you don't come in on Wednesday, then don't come in on Thursday, either,' he said.

"I helped the student install the menora on Wednesday, and went to work on Thursday. 'What? You're here? I told you not to come in if you miss Wednesday.' And I was fired.

"I wasn't very happy about losing my job, but wanting to make the best of it, I called the student, and offered to help out some more, as now I had plenty of time on my hands. The student really felt bad about my situation, and immediately asked me for my full Hebrew name and my mother's name. He sent a fax to the Rebbe's office asking for a blessing for a job for me. A little while later he told me, 'Don't worry, you've got a blessing from the Rebbe; it will all work out."

Shortly afterwards, I received a totally unexpected phone call. Qantas airlines wanted me to come in for a job interview. Thanks to the Rebbe's blessing, I landed the job that I had always wanted!"

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Source: Lightly edited and supplemented by Yerachmiel Tilles from an article by Mina Gordon in N'Shei Chabad Newsletter, and reprinted with permission by L'ChaimWeekly (#1054--5768/2007)

Editor's note: If Mordechai/Mark the pilot is the Mordechai/Mark the pilot I know (how many can there be!), we prepared and hosted a Saturday night Sheva Brachos (post-wedding celebration) meal for him 17 +- years ago. YT

Connection:Seasonal -- Shavuot, festival of "giving of the Torah"

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Yerachmiel Tilles is co-founder and associate director of Ascent-of-Safed, and chief editor of this website (and of KabbalaOnline.org). He has hundreds of published stories to his credit, and many have been translated into other languages. He tells them live at Ascent nearly every Saturday night.

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