Here's are some snippets of what's happening on the West Coast:
Thank G‑d, we've had so many interesting meetings that it's hard to keep track of all our adventures!
Yesterday, we decided to check out an area in the mountains around twenty minutes from Burbank. It was incredible how many Jews we met. They couldn't believe that there was someone who cared enough to send yeshiva boys to visit them!
One particularly moving visit was to a widow who unfortunately suffers from Alzheimer's. Although she can't remember many details of her life, it was evident that she truly enjoyed conversing in Yiddish. After we had handed her some Shabbat candles and turned to go, we overheard her telling her aide, "I really enjoyed that visit!" It made our whole trip worthwhile.
We drove up a very steep hill and decided to knock on a random door to ask about Jews in the area. The lady who answered the door told us that the next door neighbor is Jewish and shouted over the fence, "Hey Rick, you have two Hassidim at the door for you!" "No way!" came the reply.
Rick speaks Hebrew (his mom was a Hebrew school teacher), but has not been to synagogue in years. He told us that he thought he wouldn't feel comfortable in the synagogue, but now he thinks he might start going. We certainly hope he does.
In the evening, we met a family who excitedly invited us in. Dad put on Tefillin, and the whole family recited Shema together.
Today, we had been having a hard day and decided that we needed to do at least one mitzvah with someone before the day was out.
We entered a shop and asked if anyone was Jewish. Turns out that there were four Jews there. We sat down for a small torah class. Afterward, we gave the lady some Shabbat candles and helped the gentlemen put on Tefillin. For two of them, it was the first time! We also put a mezuzah on the door before bidding them a good Shabbat.
Shabbat Shalom!
