He Helped With Minyan, and a Minyan Suddenly Appeared at His Funeral

By COLlive reporter

As the Levaya procession pulled into an Upstate New York cemetery on Tisha B’Av, a small group of Chasidic men happened to be standing nearby. They hadn’t come for the funeral; they were there for their own reasons. But when they saw the hearse arrive, they paused, approached quietly, and offered to help make a Minyan so Kaddish could be said.

One of the mourners, a nephew of the niftar, told them, almost in passing, “You should know, my uncle was often the tenth man when others needed him.” And in that moment, something clicked. The man who used to quietly show up to complete a Minyan was now, without any planning, being given the same gift in return.

The funeral was for Marvin Newberg, a Monticello lawyer who passed away suddenly on his 76th birthday. He wasn’t widely known as a religious man, but those who knew him will remember how deeply kind and dependable he was, especially when it came to simply showing up for others.

Years ago, daily Minyanim were held at Tifereth Israel on Landfield Avenue, just across the street from Marvin’s law office. Especially during the winter months, it was hard to gather ten men for Mincha or Maariv. The local Chabad Shliach, Rabbi Benzion Chanowitz, would often find himself one man short, and Marvin was always nearby. With zero fuss, he’d cross the street and help complete the Minyan.

Later on, once a regular Shabbos Minyan was established at the Chabad of Rock Hill, the challenge of getting ten men didn’t go away. One Shabbos Zachor in particular stood out. Rabbi Simcha Zajac, the Shliach there, recalled walking ten minutes to Marvin’s home, knocking on his door, and asking if he could help them read from the Torah. Marvin looked at his watch and said, “I’ve only got about thirty minutes.” Still, he came. That was the kind of man he was, someone you could count on.

At the Levaya, that story was shared by the rabbi as a reflection of Marvin’s quiet generosity. And then, the moment at the cemetery, the spontaneous Minyan, the strangers who stepped in, felt like something far more than coincidence.  The man who had made sure others could say Kaddish now had a Minyan standing around him, giving him the same honor.

May the neshama of Moshe Nachman ben Binyomin have an aliyah.

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