The rabbi of the Conservative congregation in Fort Wayne was very excited to hear that we were visiting his town, and invited us to take over his regular Tuesday night class. (They are now learning the Laws of Teshuvah by Maimonides.)
There were a number of attendees at the class (including the rabbi), and my co-rover, Sholom Ber, gave a brilliant class discussing some of the mystical aspects of teshuvah.
After the class, people lingered to hear about our experiences traveling all around rural Indiana. After hearing some of our more colorful stories, one of the people told the following story:
"I walk around with my kipah and tzitzit wherever I go. One day, I was at an event with a few friends. Suddenly, a pickup truck drove toward us, and an elderly man with a walker was helped out of the cab.
“He looked at me, walked straight over, grabed my tzitzit, kissed them and cried, "This is the first time in sixty years that I saw these. You remind me of my father who wore them in Europe!" He kissed the tzitzit again, and let go of them reverently.”
