A late-night phone call last week set in motion a remarkable overnight mission of chesed shel emes, as a group of devoted Chevra Kadisha members traveled hundreds of miles to ensure that a niftar received a proper taharah.

A longtime Chabad shliach in New Hampshire, who has served the state’s Jewish community for more than 36 years, received a call late Wednesday night from a woman he had not spoken with in years. In tears, she informed him that her brother had been niftar in Concord.

Immediately stepping in to assist, the shliach began gathering the necessary information and coordinating arrangements to ensure a proper kevurah. He contacted the local Chevra Kadisha and worked to schedule a taharah and a Friday morning levaya.

By Thursday afternoon, however, it became clear that the situation was far more complex than initially understood. The small, volunteer-based local Chevra Kadisha determined that the circumstances were beyond what they were equipped to handle.

An alternative plan was made to transfer the niftar to Boston, where a larger and more experienced Chevra Kadisha could properly perform the taharah before returning him to New Hampshire in time for the levayah.

However, the niftar’s sister objected strongly and refused to allow the transfer, stating that she would not permit her brother to be moved.
With the levayah fixed for Friday morning and time rapidly running out, the shliach and local volunteers went to the funeral home in Concord to assess the situation themselves. After seeing the circumstances firsthand, they concluded that a proper tahara could not be performed locally.

Facing what seemed like an impossible situation late Thursday night, the shliach reached out to Rabbi Mordy Hecht of Crown Heights for help.

Without hesitation, Rabbi Hecht immediately began assembling a Chevra Kadisha team and committed to coming if necessary.

Just after 9:00 p.m., a group departed New York and began the 260-mile drive to Concord. They arrived at the funeral home at approximately 1:05 a.m. and immediately began the tahara, completing the sacred task in a little over an hour.

The funeral home director, deeply moved by the dedication and determination of the group — who had traveled overnight for a niftar they had never met — remained at the facility to observe the process until it was completed.

At 2:25 a.m., the shliach received the message he had been waiting for: the tahara was complete, and the group was already on their way back to New York.

Despite offers to stay overnight, the team insisted on returning immediately, disappearing back into the night after fulfilling their mission of chesed shel emes.

As the shliach reflected afterward, the experience was a living testament to the timeless truth: “מי כעמך ישראל גוי אחד בארץ.”

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)