I HAD A SLEEPOVER WITH A HOLOCAUST SURVIVOR

what is the greatest feeling in the world the greatest feeling in the world is giving it to others having the knowledge that you have something to give [Music] in September of 2021 I visited rostov a city in southern Russia to film a documentary for Meaningful minute there I met with the local Chabad Rabbi Rabbi Heim dancinger amongst the many things that Rabbi denzinger does for his community caring for the elderly Jews of rustov is his top priority he regularly visits these old and lonely people bringing them daily meals medications but most of all keeping them company Rabbi denzinger took me along to meet many of these elderly people and one such person we visited was an elderly Holocaust Survivor named Hersh because we're standing outside this apartment building and apparently the rabbi is going to be delivering some things what's going on right now so we go uh we have a bunch of people so we come to their homes they don't need their houses several years ago we visited this house uh it was Hanukkah and I was told he wasn't feeling well we came to this house for food and we wanted to support it we had no children no family and he said I don't need the food I don't think I'm gonna live too much longer I don't want to live when I heard someone say I don't want to live I said why what happened he said I had two heart attacks I have uh you know yet cancer and uh and and my wife died I'm not gonna live for it so I'm speaking with my kids imagine what to tell someone who says he has nothing to live for what do you tell him I was thinking I told him we need you he said why do you need me I said we need you and I'm thinking what do we need them for if someone's not needed it doesn't feel like it needs to live so I told him we need you for the minion man he says what's your name I told them that every day we have to say kadish Memorial prayers for all the Jewish people from rustov who were killed by the Nazis in 1942 and we only have nine people I told them you're the tenth man we needed without you we can't pray he said really I said yes so he said I'll come on the next day came with a cane barely made it the next day he came and the next day every day he comes he vetches it's hard at this but that's what kept Him alive and uh thank God he's not a mathematician because otherwise you would have noticed he wasn't the 10th Man that's only the reason to live and her she's a very holy person very holy true special man and uh I'm coming to him so we're going to visit him now we have an online program to help these people that feel lonely we come we bring iPads and we connect them with each other so the last one just before Rosh Hashanah he told me a rabbi I love the premises on my house I told him it's never too late here even if you're almost 90 years old we could do that here we're gonna fix them and sometime and I'm sure it's gonna be happy yes where's she living to what he wants to come on what's the best place in the city [Music] and he names the old address that from the days of the Communist times 40 seconds later because he remembers from the 80s from the 70s he had Corona for three months he was in the hospital and and people were dying all around them what song I'm asking I'm asking tonight at one point some months ago he didn't want to tell us that he was running out of medication and just instead I started taking one pill every three days instead of everything so I told them never again I gave my cell phone number I said you call me whenever so now I'm asking him and he's saying no he's being a little you know people that live alone we came up with this great idea it was a thought we had to install Alexa in their homes suddenly they have Alexa they could get music and they when they see we install internet then we saw Alexa and they could talk to it and I say Alex it's called the Lisa Lisa played Beethoven or something right and it goes on the first time I thought someone else what are you talking talk to the speaker did it make sense now they don't stop talking to it they're talking all day what time is it Alexa what's the weather in New York what's the weather in London they talk it's just companionship it's something unbelievable yeah got it is inviting you to stay here oh thank you that is very nice that is very nice come in well you got to come in yeah this is unbelievable thank you thank you this is I've never seen such a thing this is this is unbelievable yeah we came here to someone's house who obviously lives very modestly and what does he say he's offering to stay in his house where do I stay right here uh he said we'll find your place yeah that'll be fun okay so I'll leave you here I'll pick you up in a week's time is that even a month you could say a month you see that yes we're gonna have a real Bromance he's ready he's ready that's amazing yes yes is I'm telling you this is a guy who's been through it all he's been through it say something I'm I'm just uh you should tell him that I see in him he's he's very young at heart he has such passion this guy is a guy who's been through it all and what I want to say is he comes he used to listen to this when I came he was lying in this bed and he said I don't want to get up I have nothing to live for when we told them we need him for the minions and he came every day every day every day will come and you come uh and his book was weak and it was freezing cold ice see snow but what would he say do you need me for the minion and what we learn is someone just needs to feel that he's needed and he is needed everyone needs to feel like they have a purpose very important and you know what Honestly by visiting when we visit these people we get more than they get no you see the experience they had the life they lived the hard trips in the hardest of times through the war and what's left look at the look at the joy look at the the Jewish Joy this person has the menorah it's not kanaka is the minority ready ready what are we now or just Rosh Hashanah is ready for Hanukkah state I'm not kidding next time if I come back for a longer period of time I'll spend the night at his house and we're gonna party like it's 1969. of course what's the question is waiting you'll be very happy how old is this man he's 88. 88 then he's about to get his first mezuzah it's never too late guys for those of you are not familiar and this is sort of like a spiritual security system and he's about to get one on his door so it says in the Torah in the Bible [Music] it's the way that people might pull it off I don't remember [Music] this is after a few days in Russia I headed back home but Rabbi danzinger kept on reminding me that Hirsch was waiting for me to spend the night acknowledge that Hirsch was no longer a young man I flew back to Russia and headed to rustov in order to make good on my promise [Music] finally just got off my third flight for the day and we are interested tomorrow I'm going to do something very very meaningful something I've been wanting to do for a long time I'm going to fulfill a promise to A Very Old Man a holocaust Survivor what I meant [Music] tonight is epic whatever is going on tonight I've been living here for 13 years never after 13 years that I've lived here as such an idea crept into someone's mind until slimy showed up here five months ago honestly I'm a little bit I'm not afraid I just feel like it might be uh very uncomfortable at times I have no idea and I wonder if he hears well because I snort so basically he's going out of his comfort zone I'm definitely going out of my comfort zone um I have I have concerns about the sad sanitary conditions are parting ways until tomorrow okay foreign house honestly I I did not think this through like once I decided I was gonna do it once I promised him I was going to do it I knew there would be no turning back but now it's like not sure what to expect I'm not sure what's gonna happen so it's happening ready or not here it comes literally walking up to this house of this old man and I'm going to be staying at his house tonight this is one of the honestly one of the craziest things I've ever done it's not the craziest day at someone's house but when the only language that man speaks is Russian my Russian practically comes down to a couple words that I learned from taxi drivers that is uh that's a bit of a problem I don't know how this is gonna work out but I'm here for it whatever happens it's going to be an experience and I hope that he um I hope he enjoys this because he must be very very lonely so I hope that he will have company business enjoy it for as long as it lasts okay I got to the top of the stairs the doors open I'm going in last night [Music] so this is the room I believe I'm not sure where I'm gonna be sleeping but that's his bed do you remember this is the same 30 he wasn't born in 1937 the Nazis occupied the city when he was five years old didn't have a chance to escape the Nazis came he was here he hid from them for the first occupation he survived it and then the second story occupies [Music] this guy is so sweet Rabbi can you tell them how excited I am to be here like tell him and this is not a joke tell him I literally flew to Russia just to stay at his house and I want him to know that I want him to to understand how like I promise and I'm excited to do it and and I want him to know that I came here special for him yes oh wow [Music] foreign so this is the bed that Harris prepared for me so um there's I brought you a present a gift oh I so shaking steady This Is Us last time when we uh when I met him the first time oh what's yes do you have one of this yes you keep it in your house so you can remember foreign here you're in good hands of course so uh we wish you well good night thank you and the channel is beautiful it's the connection of of people you know from two ends of the world that speak different languages but your souls connect what comes out Unity kindness camaraderie friendship beautiful is a good night good night whatever you want there yeah okay [Music] foreign [Music] I think he just asked me if I was born in America but I now live in Israel I'm pretty sure that's what he asked but I have no idea foreign [Music] congratulations foreign [Music] he's happy so I'm happy do you like music that's Yiddish is [Music] yeah okay that's another language [Music] do you like music musica though I have music let's play some music I think that's something we could all connect to one second let's see who we should play Ash look at the selfie I took oh that's your phone who's that okay so look this is a selfie the yes [Music] pretty much foreign okay look s real life press this button oh you look great you look great yes you lost 10 kilograms wow um I do not see this one coming but I basically just taught him how to take photos on iPhone foreign [Music] uh it's not going well okay so I think he's trying to make the bed for me but I brought my own linen oh look um the rabbi gave me linen okay so don't worry I wouldn't want him to have to put it on no I'll do it I'll do it I'll do it you sit down I'm gonna yeah I'll do it I'll do it I'll do it you you can I'll take care of it I'll take care of everything all right so don't worry I'll take care of it you can you can go remember all right I'll do it okay okay I'll do it again I'll take care of it no no yeah it's okay it's okay you can you don't have to do this you can I'll do whatever needs to be done he insists on making the bed um and I try to tell him a thousand times that it's fine I'll deal with it but he wants to do it himself he's so sweet like every he's covering every drop of the mattress and wants it to look perfect honestly like I don't want it banana um okay so I think he just asked me what time the prayer is tomorrow chakras the morning prayers at the synagogue but like I don't want him to be okay what's up [Music] foreign [Music] I have I have everything in this okay [Music] um that way yeah okay okay he's gonna show me where the bathroom is okay perfect this is the toilet okay so that's very nice so it is lights out okay [Music] okay [Music] that's okay it's okay I don't need slippers it's dirty yeah so I don't need slippers it's fine if the house is clean my feet are not gonna get dirty it's all good okay it's like the room is full of old stuff like newspapers and bags and old jars and olive oil there's a menorah old pasta and tomato sauces who knows what all this stuff is anyway oh there's a microwave too okay so I think Hersch finally went to bed um it was just the weirdest thing like he was here in this room talking to me he insisted on making the bed I tried to get him to like stop because I didn't want him to work hard but I could see that it made him so happy to [Music] make the bed and he was like see who's like it brought him so much joy to be able to do something for someone else because he's always on the receiving end I figured you know how let him make the bed so he made the bed and then we were talking I have no idea what he was saying but I was just like nodding and trying to understand and um suddenly just like clicked the switch on the lamp and it was dark in the room he said good night that's one of the only things I know in Russian and he walked out and I thought that was over so like I was on my phone a little bit and like every two minutes he would just like barging and start talking to me again Epic just wouldn't that's happened like 10 times like he'd say good night and then two minutes later just barges in again and starts talking and I thought it was weird Behavior but then I realized like this man literally lives alone and he never has company so he was just so excited to like have another human being to talk to and it just kept coming in it's like after like 10 times he said good night and then I haven't heard from him in like half hour or so was somebody who went to bed and I guess I'm gonna do the same foreign it's four o'clock in the morning um I've been having trouble sleeping the bed is like not really the greatest it's kind of like just like a hard board with a sheet on top but that's fine um it's so quiet here I'm not sure what's gonna happen in the morning but I have to make sure that I can get him up and out in time so that we can make it to the synagogue for that morning prayers because I want to make sure that uh that he gets to be there and a nice breakfast together and you can see other people this guy stays home all the time he never gets to go out just want to make Shout I'm a little worried about going down six flights of stairs up very difficult for him for him even though I can't sleep so excited and I'm so glad that I've been able to do this I know how happy it made him and that's the main thing I'm gonna try to get some more sleep but if it doesn't work out um foreign so it's 6 45 in the morning I was just falling asleep again and Harris walked into my room and woke me up or didn't let me go to sleep so we're the day is starting I'm exhausted but feels good in here okay so basically it's a little it's a few minutes before seven o'clock in the morning I wouldn't know because if you look outside it's like still dark outside anyhow he came in I have no idea what he's saying yes anyway there's someone from the synagogue who's supposed to come pick us up to take us to synagogue to pray in the morning and I called that guy who also only speaks Russian but he's using Google translate so I was able to text him and tell him to please come over here and maybe he could help us understand each other because I am completely lost so I think he showed up now let's see good morning the conversation was getting very heated I'm not sure if they're upset or they're just excited I have no idea this is what happens when you don't speak the language so that's it packing up got my bag of stuff and we are out of here this young man is telling me that Hirsch looks like a gangster with a cat closer [Music] you need to move [Music] foreign this is seven o'clock in the morning okay looks like night to me almost anyway thank God we're going to show let's go to synagogue it's fast enough so we're here in traffic and the car next to me is blasting techno music at seven in the morning that's the way to go we've arrived let's go ah yes okay let's go see he's smart he took one from the bottom of the pile that no one touched it how was your night well what night I didn't sleep I slept a little bit yeah could you find out how his night was I have no idea okay where is he who's there a boy I think he told me that he used to sit somewhere here he was sleeping very good again [Music] I'm still alive I'm still holding on um he had several two heart attacks and he needs surgery he's not able to because the heart attack but he said he came today to shoot to synagogue he says he came today because you came and said he wanted to come with you oh wow and um and I was on the way back at it she was his apartment light with electricities we're going to take care of it on the way home okay a lovely hop tell him you know he he might feel forgotten but I will never forget him I want him to know that yeah and he's not gonna forget you yeah [Music] I'm alone I'm the only one alive no one cares for me see I want you to be by my funeral I told them funeral after 1 20. you still have another 15 years to go 35 35 this is his place this is his same place every single day he came to services this is where he said and he answered them in and he put on thrilling everything he has to do who knows so the synagogue is filling up people are here to pray the morning prayers and every person that passes tells them that she let me stayed at his house and um just a heartwarming feeling like I'm so glad that I was able to make this man happy and keep him company for one night okay [Music] foreign [Music] we'll tell them that instead of water we want vodka to come out he's like great but I stopped drinking I don't drink anymore he's asking if you're happy with the service are you a kid happy tell him I am so happy I flew here all the way from Israel Justice [Music] eat um [Music] let's start [Music] okay bye-bye okay [Music] after so much suffering hair should given up on life but then the rabbi came along and gave him a reason to live persuading Hersh that he was desperately needed for the minion but eventually as Hirsch got even older coming to the minion was no longer possible for him and he once again became sad and lonely staying the night at Hirsch's home spending time with him and giving him a listening ear reminded me that the greatest feeling in the world is the feeling of giving I felt great that I was able to give hers my time and Company but what felt even greater was the fact that I was able to give Hersch the ability to have that feeling too and for him to be a giver once again foreign [Music]