We got a call from Rabbi Lehrfield at Cong. Beth Abraham-Jacob that a 97 year old Holocaust survivor passed away at the Daughters of Sara Nursing Home in Albany with no local (surviving) family, and a nephew coming in from Cleveland for the funeral on Friday morning. He asked if it would be possible for a few students to come and make the Minyan. We asked around and a few guys were able to make time that Friday morning at 11am. We got this email note in response:
We live in Cleveland Ohio. My husband’s uncle, in Albany, passed away last Thursday and we held the funeral on Friday morning. We are his only family in the U.S. Knowing my husband would be the only Jewish male mourner and that having a minyan was important to him, the Rabbi reached out to students, I am told, from Chabad at SUNY Albany. I want to thank the students who came for helping us honor this 97 year old survivor. It meant everything to us and reconfirmed all the positive feelings we have for Chabad on Campus. Our son was a constant fixture at Chabad at Ohio State, back in the day. They did a true mitzvah for us. Thank you.