Rockland Community Comes Together for Chesed Shel Emes

By Idy Perl

A heartfelt gathering took place today, a day after Tisha B'Av, at the Gates of Zion Cemetery on Saddle River Road in Airmont, bringing together dozens of Yidden from various communities, united by one mission: Chesed Shel Emes.

The story began when a local resident learned that Marty Kessover, a 92-year-old unaffiliated Jewish Korean War veteran, had passed away. Determined to ensure he received a kosher burial, the resident took immediate action.

It wasn’t without challenges; the deceased's family initially insisted on cremation. However, Rav Yakov Yosef Bayer from Beis Yisroel Funeral Chapel, a Skvere chossid, intervened, convincing the family to allow a kosher burial, ensuring the neshama would be at peace.

With the niftar having limited Jewish family and friends, the Chabad Rabbi of Nyack sent out a call for local residents to join the funeral to ensure a proper minyan, hoping enough people would show up to form a proper minyan for someone they had never met.

To the rabbi’s surprise, in a remarkable display of unity, especially coming right after Tisha B'Av, around 50 people attended the levaya, accompanying a fellow Jew on his final journey.