והיה עקב תשמעון את המשפטים האלה ושמרתם ועשיתם אתם ושמר ה' אלקיך לך את הברית ואת החסד וכו' (ז-יב)
One Friday night, R’ Meir Shushter Shlit’a of Aish Hatorah, was at the Kosel Hamaravi and noticed a young man wearing a paper kipa staring wordlessly at the wall with an awed expression. As he’s done countless times before, he approached and asked the young man if he was interested in learning more about Judaism and not just looking at a 2,000 year old wall. The young man answered “Sure, why not?” and followed him up the stairs into Yeshivah Aish Hatorah.
It was not long before R’ Meir realized that this young man was unusually bright. Over Shabbos, he made a point of talking with him and the young man was very receptive. After Shabbos, he again asked if the young man would want to stay on a bit longer and learn more about Judaism to which the young man again responded in the affirmative.
For the next six months, R’ Meir took this young man under his wing and began studying with him, first the basics and gradually, as his genius mind absorbed rapidly, they moved up to studying Chumash, Mishna and even Gemara. What had first began as a Friday night dinner, turned into a six month intensive course in Torah study.
After six months, though, the young man came to R’ Meir and informed him that he had decided to return back to his native London. R’ Meir protested and told him that he thought he was doing so well, that he was well on his way to becoming a true Torah Jew. At that point, the young man dropped a bombshell on him.
“Well, you see,” he began hesitantly, “I’m not even Jewish! I came here six months ago as part of my clerical course in religion, to try to learn and understand more about other faiths, but in fact, I’m studying to become a Christian priest myself.”
R’ Meir was understandably stunned. Not Jewish? A Christian? A priest? How could this be? How could he have been so far off with this man? Could it be that he simply wasted six months of his life learning Torah with a non-Jew? He was crestfallen and shaken to the core.
But of course, Hashem’s master plan takes into account every contingency. About a half year later, an English youth walked into the halls of Yeshivah Aish Hatorah and asked for Rabbi Shuster. “You don’t know me,” he began, “But I heard that you’re the person I should talk to.” Obviously non-religious and making no effort to pretend that he was, R’ Meir wondered who this man was and what he wanted from him. After being so badly burned just a short time ago, he was not taking any chances.
The Englishman said, “Well, you see, it’s like this. I am presently taking a course in Philosophy in my university back in London. A few weeks ago, as my elderly professor was delivering another boring lecture in Freudian philosophy, I was filled with question after question which I needed to discuss with him. After his lecture, I asked him what was on my mind, and predictably, he had no answers for me. Finally, he told me that there is a brilliant young man who comes by the university from time to time who he thinks I should speak to. If anyone could answer my questions, he probably was the man.”
“So I did just that and when I found this young man - a Catholic priest in training no less - I began talking to him in matters of philosophy. After a short while, he stopped me in mid-sentence and asked me, ‘Are you Jewish?’ Taken aback, I answered that in fact I was Jewish by birth. He then told me, ‘From the depth of your queries I figured as much. Listen, if you truly want to understand the truth of your convictions, than I’m not the right person for you to talk to. For you to find your truth, you must go to Jerusalem, to a Yeshivah called Aish Hatorah and speak to a rabbi named Meir Shuster. He can probably help you and answer all your questions.’ Well, rabbi, I traveled to Jerusalem and here I am!”
R’ Meir was stunned. Now it all made sense. Six months of studying with a non-Jewish priest had indeed served its purpose. This young Englishman, and amazingly five others who were likewise directed to Rabbi Shuster by an anonymous Catholic priest in London, all became Baalei Teshuva and religious Torah Jews.
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