Detour Leads to Bar Mitzvah and Timely Cemetery Visit

By COLlive reporter

A routine drive between two southern cities turned into a moment of deep spiritual meaning and Divine Providence for two yeshiva students on shlichus.

Yossi Weinstein, a bochur at Yeshiva Tiferes Bachurim in Morristown, New Jersey, is currently on Merkos Shlichus with fellow bochur Binyomin Karpelevitch, traveling on behalf of the Aleph Institute to visit Jews in remote areas.

Earlier this week, while driving from Farmington, Missouri, to Memphis, Tennessee, the two passed through a small town called Brownsville, Tennessee. A spontaneous urge led Yossi to search if there was any trace of Jewish life in the area. Surprisingly, he discovered that Brownsville is home to Adas Israel, the oldest synagogue in Tennessee.

Initially continuing on the highway, Yossi suddenly felt compelled to make a U-turn and explore the shul. They arrived to find it empty and locked, so the bochurim began researching its history. A Facebook post from several years ago led them to an address linked to a former member, but upon visiting, they learned he had passed away.

A neighbor they spoke with mentioned another Jewish resident in town, Fred Silverstein, and gave them directions to his home. The bochurim paid Mr. Silverstein a visit and listened as he recounted stories of Jewish life in Brownsville during its heyday.

To their surprise and delight, Mr. Silverstein offered to take them to the Adas Israel synagogue. Standing outside the historic building, the bochurim asked Fred if he had ever wrapped tefillin. He revealed that he had never had a bar mitzvah and had never worn tefillin in his life.

That changed right then and there.

Outside the synagogue where his ancestors once prayed, Fred Silverstein—at the age of 85—wrapped tefillin for the first time and celebrated a long-awaited bar mitzvah. “It was incredibly moving,” said Yossi. “To be able to do this mitzvah with him, in front of his childhood shul, was unforgettable.”

As if that weren’t enough, Fred then brought them to the local Jewish cemetery. While walking among the gravestones, the bochurim discovered the headstone of Rabbi Israel Alter Greenberg, a former rabbi of the community. His yartzeit? The very day of their visit—11 Av.

Yossi called it an amazing moment of Hashgacha pratis. Brownsville’s small Jewish community may have faded over the years, but thanks to the efforts of these young shluchim, its spark still burns bright.