Delayed Flight Ensures a Jewish Burial in Rostov

A group of Lubavitchers traveling to the Rebbe Rashab’s Ohel in Rostov, had their flight delayed due to severe weather conditions, resulting in their arrival at just the right time to assist in the burial of a local Jewish man.

By Anash.org reporter

A group of Lubavitchers traveled to visit the Rebbe Rashab‘s ohel in Rostov, Russia, when their flight was delayed, ensuring their arrival at just the right time to assist in the burial of a local Jewish man.

Friday morning, a group of young chassidic men left the Bolshaya Bronnaya Synagogue in Moscow, Russia, and set out to catch a flight to the city of Rostov, where they planned to spend an uplifting Shabbos with Rabbi Yitzchak Kogan, famously known as ‘the Tzadik of Leningrad’.

As the plane’s wheels were about to touchdown on the runway in Rostov, the pilot announced that due to excessive fog, he would not be able to land safely at that time. The plane lifted back up into the air and circled overhead for about a half-hour before it finally landed.

Although their plan had been originally to go to the ohel immediately after landing, after the flight’s delay, the group decided to daven Shacharis before going to the ohel.

“We got to the tziyon and went in to daven,” one of the participants told Anash.org. “On our way out, we suddenly noticed a small group of people in the deserted cemetery. We went over to find out what was going on.”

It turned out that it was the funeral procession of a Jewish man where all the participants were non-Jews, including the deceased’s children and family members, except for one nephew who was Jewish.

“We ran to call the rest of our group to participate in the levaya. We were nine men in total, so together with the Jewish nephew, we were exactly a minyan!” the participants shared.

The Lubavitcher visitors assisted in the burial, covering the kever with earth, reciting Mishnayos and Tehilim, and saying Kaddish for a precious neshama who may have lived among non-Jews, but merited to be escorted by his people on his final journey.

“Hashem planned our steps to be in the right place at the right time,” one of the participants noted. “If not for the fog on the runway, we would have gone to the ohel much earlier in the day as we had originally planned and would not have met this family.”

After the eventful morning, they continued with their Shabbos preparations, including a dip in the Rebbe Rashab’s mikvah, the first in the world to be built “bor al gabei bor.”

The bochurim enjoyed a beautiful Shabbos Chazak Parshas Vayechi, with uplifting Tefillos and seudos. Rabbi Kogan farbrenged and shared stories with the bochurim and local Jews, inspiring them to strengthen their commitment to Torah and Mitzvos. The wonderful Shabbos concluded with havdalah and Melaveh Malka.

Participants thanked Eliyahu Ezagui for organizing the special trip.