A True Story by Rabbi Nachman Seltzer
The only reason Robin Meyerson traveled to Israel at the age of 27 was because the Arizona Jewish Federation was sponsoring the trip, so it was inexpensive – under $900. So she and her husband went…and their life was never the same again. Before that time, she had never heard of Shabbos or kashrus, and when the tour guide mentioned Dovid HaMelech, Avraham Avinu and Sarah Imeinu, Robin thought they were Disney characters. She had had no idea that they were real people and that knowledge of them would have a major impact on her life.
Robin and her husband were not simple people. Both had earned master’s degrees and were highly educated. At the same time, they were both completely ignorant about Yiddishkeit. Now, having been introduced to a brand-new reality, they decided to start taking classes on Jewish topics so that they could obtain some comprehension of the world of Torah and mitzvos. It didn’t happen overnight, but after six years of learning they had become full baalei teshuvah and were raising a beautiful frum family.
But while most people’s journeys to Judaism usually find a plateau and fall into a routine of sorts, Robin’s life was still to become a whole lot more interesting.
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After Robin had been frum for a while, she was asked by a Rebbetzin with whom she was close if she would be willing to volunteer for the local chevrah kaddisha. She agreed, and she soon found that this undertaking had led her life in a completely different direction, giving her a real focus on the afterlife – which she hadn’t given much thought to before. She ended up catapulted on a passionate mission – the mission of chessed shel emes, going out of one’s way for a meis mitzvah.
It all began, as it often does, with a family situation.
Robin was part of a large family and had been blessed with 18 first cousins. Unfortunately, the majority of them had married out and were not connected to Judaism at all. Some of them didn’t even give their children a bris – forget about a bar mitzvah or a chuppah when they married. These were her family members, yet they were living in what she terms “a plague of darkness.” Despite this, Robin tried to stay in touch with them, hoping that she would be given the opportunity to share some of the Torah’s beauty with these people whom she cared so much about.
Robin would often make a point of “cold calling” different members of her family in order to stay in touch. One day, she called one of her aunts, who lived in Las Vegas, to say hello.
“Robin,” her aunt said, slightly overcome.
“Yes?” Robin answered, surprised by the emotion that she heard in her aunt’s voice.
“Did you hear the news? Is that why you’re calling?”
Robin had called without knowing that her uncle had just passed away that morning.
“When is the funeral going to take place?” she asked.
“We are not religious like you,” her aunt replied. “He is going to be cremated. That’s what everyone does in Las Vegas.”
Robin felt like her aunt had punched her in the stomach. Devastated, she begged her aunt to reconsider, but it was clear that her message was not making inroads. As soon as she got off the phone, Robin began calling her cousins and imploring them to bury their father instead of cremating his body. The next two weeks passed by in a haze as Robin worked around the clock to save her uncle from a terrible fate. Meanwhile, his body remained in the crematorium – waiting for her cousins to make a final decision about what to do with it.
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Robin then decided to take matters into her own hands. She donated tzedakah to an organization called Chevrah Lomdei Mishnah, which arranges for talmidei chachamim to study Torah for people’s neshamos, and she gave a credit card number to the Las Vegas cemetery and mortuary, telling them she would pay for the burial, if and when it took place. After that, there was nothing more for her to do except call her cousins daily and continue begging them not to send their father off on the next stage of his journey via the fires of cremation.
Wonder of wonders, the family decided to bury their father. Robin made arrangements to fly to Las Vegas and join them for the funeral. During the service, Robin found herself standing beside her aunt, who turned to her and said, “Robin, this is your calling! G-d is going to repay you!”
Robin was touched beyond words. Clearly her message had sunk in and the family was gratified that they had made the right decision. Still, she couldn’t help asking her cousin how the change had come about.
“What was the catalyst for your decision not to go ahead with the cremation?”
“I’ll tell you what happened,” she replied. “My father came to me in a dream one night and said just a few words, but they were words I couldn’t ignore.”
“What did he say?”
“He said, ‘Get me out of here!’”
Robin was overcome. At that moment, the connection between this world and the next had never seemed closer.
“Tell me something,” she said to her cousin. “What night did you have the dream?”
It turned out that she’d had the dream on the same night that Robin had paid for the funeral and for the Mishnayos to be learned for her uncle’s neshamah.
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The story was far from over. In fact, it had barely begun. A few months later, Robin and her family were about to embark on a 14-hour car ride to Denver to visit some of her cousins. Robin wasn’t feeling well that day and it wasn’t long before she learned that she was expecting a baby! She was 44 years old.
Knowing that she would be 45 when the baby was born, Robin was very nervous – but from some distant part of her memory she suddenly recalled standing at her uncle’s funeral and hearing her aunt say, “Robin, this is your calling! G-d is going to repay you!”
At that moment, she couldn’t help but think that this new baby was a reward from Hashem for all the hard work she had put in trying to save her uncle from a fate worse than death.
Robin went to see her doctor and learned that everything was okay. The baby was healthy and doing fine and so was she. Still, she decided that receiving a brachah from a tzaddik would be a good idea. She visited the Spinka Rebbe and told him about the situation.
The Rebbe smiled warmly and said, “You will be fine! Sarah Imeinu was 90 years old when she had Yitzchak Avinu. You’re half her age!”
Robin ended up giving birth to her son, Azriel Mordechai, exactly on the one year yahrtzeit of her uncle’s passing, two weeks past her due date (and remember that her uncle’s body was in the crematorium for two weeks waiting for burial). In her mind, her baby’s birth was a clear example of middah k’negged middah – she had helped save a Jew and been blessed with a Jewish child in return…
In the wake of this incredible experience, Robin Meyerson created a website called peacefulreturn.org – which is intended to educate secular Jews on the importance of the afterlife and burial. She also writes books and gives speeches around the world on the importance of kevuras hameis.
Today, Robin is the volunteer West Coast director for NASCK (National Association of Chevra Kadisha) with Rabbi Zohn and is on call 24/6 – always ready to help a meis mitzvah be buried. To reach Robin for burial assistance, please contact Hamodia.
As heard from Mrs. Robin Meyerson.
Names have not been changed.
This article originally appeared in the 18 teves 5781 edition of Hamodia’s Inyan magazine. It appears here with permission from that publication.
