Minyan, The

The Jews of the settlement began to feel desperate, and busy as they were, they scattered towards all the main roads, hoping against hope that even at this late hour a miracle would happen and they would find a tenth Jew...

“By the sanction of the Almighty,” Rabbi Leib intoned, “and by the sanction of the congregation, . . . we declare it permissible to pray together with those who have sinned . . .”

Without ten men, the Amida, the eighteen universal prayers, with a 19th thrown in for extra measure, could not be said out loud. Without ten men, Michael Fein, the richest Jew in town and president of the synagogue, could not say kaddish, the mourner's ...

The few who survived were so emotionally and psychologically destroyed that they were never able to live normal lives. They lived together in little villages, apart from the rest of the world

Excitement welled up in the small congregation. What had started out as a calamity suddenly seemed fresh, real, and full of wonderment. Miracles could come at anytime. And suddenly there was a bright flashing light!