A precious French Jew named Mr. Fitusy, a”h, merited discovering his heritage in the last decade of his life, when he was approximately eighty years old. In spite of his advanced age, he clung tenaciously to Torah and mitzvot at great self-sacrifice, not foregoing one iota regarding mitzvah observance.
One winter day, when the entire city was blanketed in snow and it was bitterly cold outdoors, I noticed Mr. Fitusy making his way toward the yeshiva. I was very surprised to see him outside in such inclement weather and confronted him. “Mr. Fitusy,” I asked, “why do you take such pains to come to the yeshiva in such weather? You are surely exempt from coming to the yeshiva and praying with a minyan when it is so biting cold, especially at your advanced age. You might, chas v’shalom, slip on the ice, and endanger your life.”
The old man looked me straight in the eye and said, “All my life was wasted on foolishness. I am trying to make up for lost time. Winds and storms won’t keep me from coming to the Beit Hamidrash for prayer and a Torah shiur.” He painstakingly made his way onward.
After he passed on, I came to pay my condolences to his bereaved family, as well as strengthen their faith. It hurt me terribly to observe that his family was so far from religion. I decided to take positive action and do something to rekindle the Jewish spark which had lain dormant for so long. This would surely be a merit for the elevation of the neshamah of the deceased.
In the center of the room sat the casket of the deceased man. I began circling it, as though looking for a lost object. Finally, the family asked what I was searching for.
“I wonder what is in this coffin,” I replied.
The family was flabbergasted. “Does the Rabbi not know what is in the coffin? The dead body, wrapped in shrouds.”
I feigned surprise. “Do you mean to tell me there are no hidden drawers?”
“Of course not.”
“But where does the deceased man keep all his possessions? Where does he stash his cash, or photos of his family? Can’t he take some souvenir with him to the grave? Does he come to the Next World empty-handed? Does it make sense to you that a person amasses fortunes in this world, only to abandon everything after 120 years?”
The family was quiet, so I continued, “We all know that the dead does not bring with him a thing to the Next World, not gold or silver, and not even a family album. The Next World is a spiritual world. There is no place there for physical objects. The only things a person brings along on his final journey are the Torah and mitzvot which he accrued while yet in this world. They are what stand in his defense as he faces the Heavenly Tribunal.”
