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Baalei Teshuva Stories

The following story took place over a 3-4 year period. It started when my good friend Rabbi Ben Zion Applebaum was at a bus stop in his neighborhood. He was talking to his son about things his son had learned in yeshiva. Paul, a young man of about 20 had been overhearing their conversation and he suddenly said Hey I'm Jewish. So Rabbi Applebaum started to shmooze with him and eventually he said that he would be interested to know more about Judaism - could Rabbi Applebaum help him? Well Rabbi Applebaum suggested that he read a Feldheim book; Beyond a Reasonable Doubt: Convincing Evidence to the Truths of Judaism, by Rabbi Shmuel Waldman and he gave Paul a copy of the book and they exchanged contact info. A little while later Paul called Rabbi Applebaum and said he had some things that he would like to discuss with the author of the book. So Rabbi Applebaum called me and asked permission to have Paul call. I said it was no problem.

Paul called and after some conversation, I invited Paul (who lived close by) to come for a Friday night Shabbos meal. Paul came over, and at the meal I realized how little he knew about his Judaism, and we shmoozed a lot as Paul got to ask a lot of his questions. I then offered him some other basic books about Judaism and Paul borrowed them all- he's an avid reader.

Over the next 3 years there were many phone calls, and many Shabbos meals. At one point Paul went to Israel for a couple of months to see more about Judaism and Israel. Slowly but surely he was becoming more and more religious. Before coming back to the US , he got information on how he can set himself up to make permanent Aliyah. Paul came back to the US and informed me that he decided on a Jewish name. He chose a nice Hebrew name - Simcha Chaim. He kept getting more and more religious and was getting ready to go to Israel to continue his learning so that he can live as a religious Jew and hopefully find a shidduch as well. Well, this past Friday night he came over again to say good bye since he was making Aliyah and going to Yeshiva to embrace his Jewishness and Torah learning to its fullest.

When I first started with him I wasn't too sure how much it would help since he was an only child and his father was a non-Jew. (we eventually looked thoroughly into the "Jewishness" of his mother and she was clearly 100% a Jewish lady) So I guess this is a classic - you can't judge a book by its cover, and a classic - Hey, you never know.

Rabbi Shmuel Waldman

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From a Bus Stop to Yeshivah

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