Charlie’s* whole family came to celebrate his graduation. Charlie had become quite a regular in our Chabad house, and he was excited to introduce us.
“Do you want to mark this special occasion by putting on tefillin?” I asked Charlie.
“Sure!” Charlie said, rolling up his sleeve.
I offered Charlie’s father and brothers in turn. Although they were a bit hesitant, Charlie’s example encouraged them to follow. It was their first time wearing tefillin. I explained I’d received that pair from my cousin, who asked me to use them to help people put on tefillin in honor of his father, my uncle, who’d recently passed.
I then turned to Charlie’s grandfather, and offered him a chance to put on tefillin.
“No thanks,” he grunted.
“Come on!” I pressed lightly. “When was the last time you put on tefillin?”
“It was with a rabbi named Velvy Finkelstein,” he answered.
My jaw dropped. “That’s the uncle I was just talking about!”
Charlie’s grandfather clearly didn’t believe me, but was shocked enough that he agreed to put them on.
“Your uncle was a very special man who helped me a lot,” he shared, emotionally. “I’m so happy I got to do something for him in return.”
*Names changed to protect privacy
