By Rabbi Hanoch Teller
The traditional blessing for one who engages in a mitzvah is to wish them the merit to perform additional mitzvos. Here is a story of how such a blessing was earned and fulfilled.
Some background: Just as Judaism prescribes that a marriage may only be established under the strictures of Jewish law; likewise, a marriage can only be curtailed via a divorce document (get) [other than death] arranged by a knowledgeable rabbinic authority and beheld by two kosher witnesses.
Because of the calamitous consequences that can result from a couple that is divorced civilly, but lack a proper get, m’sadrei gittin (the rabbis who arrange a get) go to great lengths (occasionally even heroics) to fulfill their mission. The name that immediately comes to mind is that of Rav Nota Greenblatt, zt”l, from Memphis who was oblivious to comfort (even in his extreme old age) in his quest to ensure that halacha was upheld.
Accolades to Rabbi Avi Lebowitz his disciple in this realm, who is proving to being Rav Nota’s worthy (albeit inimitable) successor.
Our story takes place in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan in 2014. What?! You never heard of Sault Ste. Marie? The very town of legendary native American fur trapper Ozhaguscodaywayquay. If you never heard of her, that’s probably because there are alternate spellings for her name: Oshawguscodaywayqua, Oshawuscodawaqua, Oshauguscodawaqua, and Oshawguscodywayquay. Later, mildly contracted to Susan.
In this one zip code town in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula lived a gentleman who was amenable to issuing his wife a proper halachic divorce, but he was not agreeable to make the half-day journey to Milwaukee for this purpose. Perhaps the reader will begin to appreciate the onerous travel burden m’sadrei gittin must endure.
Happy to Fly for a Mitzvah
Rabb Mendel Senderovic, who would officiate at the divorce, had an idea. He turned to Alex Goldman who owns a time share in a circa 1976 Cessna one propeller plane. The journey by air was only one-and-a-half hours each way. Alex, a third-generation pilot, was happy to fly for a mitzvah.
He cautioned Rabbi Senderovic that the weather forecast toward the end of the apportioned day was iffy for a small plane, and accordingly Rabbis Senderovic, Dovid Begoun (who would serve as a witness (in case there weren’t any kosher witnesses readily available to be snagged in Sault Ste Marie)) and Alex, who would serve as the second witness, took off bright and early. This would have to be a “get-and-run” for the weather – which Alex was constantly monitoring – would turn toward evening. Seeing the sights of Sault Ste Marie would have to wait for a different trip.
The Soon-to-be-No-Longer Married Man was Waiting for Them
Alex touched the plane down on the one and only landing strip, and the soon-to-be-no-longer married man was waiting for them. There was no mistaking who he was for this was a no-frills airport: sans tower, ground control even a refueling pump. Thank G-d, Alex-The-Boy-Scout-Goldman, had tanked up with enough fuel to enable a return flight.
The four of them relocated to the pilot’s hut and Rabbi Senderovic got right to work. Meanwhile, the Sault Ste Marie airport was having a busy day. A modern Beachcraft Baron 58 twin engine just landed and was taxiing toward the hut as it sneered past the single-engine Cessna 172. The plane came to a halt and a man and a woman alighted.
