10:25 AM
Gil Student
I received this e-mail. The story sounds dubious and I have changed it to remove the name of the man it discusses. However, I'll add that my mother-in-law and her family left the USSR in 1967, just as the Six Day War was breaking out. Because of the war, their plane was not allowed entry into America and landed in another country, where this deceased man's family picked these total strangers up from the airport right before Shabbos and allowed them to stay in their home until the situation could be resolved.
An extremely wealthy Orthodox Jew passed away this summer, leaving 1 billion dollars.
He left two wills, directing that one be opened immediately and the second be opened at the Shloshim (after 30 days).
Among the instructions left in the first will was a request the he be buried with a certain pair of socks that he owned. The deceased man's children immediately brought the socks to the Chevra Kadisha, requesting that their father be buried in them. Of course, the Chevra Kadisha refused, reminding the family that it's against the Halacha, They pleaded, explaining that their father was a very pious and learned man, and he obviously had a very good reason to make this request. The Chevra Kadisha remained firm in their refusal.
The family frantically summoned the Chevra Kadisha to Beis Din, where the Rov gently explained to them, "Although your father left that request when he was on this world, now that he's in the world of truth, he surely understands that it is in his best interests to be buried without the socks.
The gentleman was buried without his socks.
30 days later, the second will was opened, and it read something like this; "My dear children. By now you must have buried me without my socks. I wanted you to truly understand that a man can have 1 billion dollars, but in the end, he can't even take along one pair of socks!
What a man!
