By COLlive reporter
When Russia’s Chief Rabbi Berel Lazar was invited by the Kremlin to attend a memorial event with President Vladimir Putin in the Belgorod region, he had a condition.
Since the event was to take place on Friday, July 12, he asked that he be able to make it back in time to spend Shabbos with his family and community.
They said a plane can depart immediately after the event that will have him back in Moscow an hour before candle lighting time.
Rabbi Lazar proceeded to travel to the town of Prokhorovka for the ceremony commemorating the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Prokhorovka.
Putin and World War II veterans lay flowers at the Zvonnitsa memorial bell tower at the Prokhorovskoye Polye military-historical museum to honor the Soviet tanks which stopped Nazi forces from breaking through the Soviet Army’s defense lines.
At the agreed time, Rabbi Lazar boarded the plane for the hour and a half flight. But while on the tarmac, it became clear that the army planes for the ceremony were still in the air.
Rabbi Lazar asked that he be let off the plane. The pilot told him it was not possible and promised to get him to Moscow at least 10 minutes before Shabbos which begins at 10:00 PM. The plane indeed landed as the pilot promised.
Rabbi Lazar phoned his home, notifying them about the debacle and started walking back to his home. A government official, seeing him walk, offered him a ride. “We’ll do it quick. No one will know…” the man said.
The rabbi kindly declined and made the 30 km trip by foot. He was back home in the wee hours of the morning, only to wake up a short while later to lead services at the Marina Roscha Synagogue.
kiddush hashem!!
I was in moscou and i saw how he was early at morning to the davening.col hacavod.
this means a shliach. really a kidush hashem.
Interesting, never occurred to me that it was out of extra devotion, which is probably true regardless, but rather, who would like to spend a Shabbos alone in the airport with no minyan nor kosher food?
He should have stayed at the airport and kept Snowden company!
What else could he do? He could have simply stayed at the airport and not be off-the-charts dedicated to be with his kehila for shabbos.
One must be a chosid to do that?
What else would one expect from a chief rabbi?!
Anyways, makes good headlines.
Is an example of a chossid , chissidishe yid
Russia is very lucky
He must really be in shape to do that!
kol hakavod
Proud to have shluchim like that leading us.
That’s more than 18 and a half miles!
He is a good man, I worked for him 20 years ago.
My son once got stuck, due to a sudden flash flood on the jersey side of the holland tunnell,. Because his wife was home alone with a newborn baby he was determined to get home. after much coercion he managed to get permission to walk through the tunnel with a police escort and walked home to Crown Heights, arriving at 3:30 a.m.
very proud!!
a real kiddush hashem!!!
Rabbi….YOU’RE THE MAN– PERIOD!
30 Km!
such a kidush Hashem !
A Jew, Chassid and Lazar go hand in hand to make a Kiddush Hashem.