A Soul's Journey: The Mysterious Request from Beyond

The chilling story unfolded about a year ago.

At the center is Rabbi Eliezer Lipa Zril, a kosher supervisor from the 'Edah HaChareidis'. His colleague experienced an extraordinary dream while stationed in Strasbourg, Germany.

In an interview with Rabbi A. Chefetz from the 'Dirshu' website, Rabbi Zril explained that every year the 'Edah HaChareidis' sends a group of kosher supervisors to factories around the world. These factories produce food with high-level kosher certification for Torah-observant Jews. During that year, a group was sent to Germany. Throughout the week, they had little contact with observant Jews. During Shabbat, the group gathers in a town with a synagogue for prayers, study, and observing Shabbat.

Rabbi Zril mentioned that the supervisors usually split into pairs, each going to a different town where a production site requires supervision. He and his travel companion arrived at a small German village-like area named Newosond in Strasbourg.

"One night, my supervision partner told me about a dream he had. In it, a soul named 'Eliezer' appeared to him. Her grave was not far, and she wanted him to recite chapters of Tehillim at her grave on her yahrzeit, the 10th of Iyar," Rabbi Zril recalls.

"I felt this was more than just a dream," his partner shared with emotion. "The soul led me over the nearby train tracks, just a two-minute drive from our inn, and pointed toward a large house, claiming the grave was behind it. Immediately after, I saw the grave in my dream with a jug engraved on it and the name Eliezer."

Upon their arrival in Strasbourg, the dream resurfaced—mainly due to the date: the 8th of Iyar. Just two days shy of when the soul requested the rabbi to visit the grave and recite Tehillim.

"There’s the building. That’s the building from my dream"

"On that day, we took a train to the location described in the dream. Our only guide was the description given by the soul. We reached the train tracks, and after a short, slow drive, my partner exclaimed, 'There’s the building! That's the building from my dream.'"

They immediately stopped the car, got out, and approached what appeared to be an old, abandoned building. "We walked around it, and behind a grove of trees and bushes, we saw a small path. Excitedly, we proceeded down the path, finding several headstones without inscriptions, potentially belonging to non-Jews."

Exploring further, they finally paused. "Suddenly, we discovered a closed wooden gate with a Star of David engraved on it. Jewish graves. We pushed the gate, finding it unlocked, and entered."

There, Rabbi Zril and his partner found a hill surrounded by about twenty graves. "We began searching for 'our' soul, moving from grave to grave. Names like Yenta and Yehuda—Jews who passed in the late 1920s. Then my partner called me over excitedly: 'Here’s a gravestone with a jug!' It was indeed the precise grave he saw in his dream, down to the last detail. After recovering from the sight, I suggested we study Mishnayos to elevate her soul. However, he insisted, 'The soul requested to say chapters of Tehillim.' We recited the Tehillim with intense awakening and deep emotion."

Due to the story's uniqueness, Rabbi Zril decided to document the dream, sending a letter to Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky. The esteemed rabbi responded with serious reflection, noting that even after over 200 years since the soul's passing, a soul may seek rectification and is given the ability to make requests of someone, even a stranger. Rabbi Kanievsky also noted the specific request for Tehillim rather than Mishnayos, saying, "There is significance in saying the Tehillim near the grave itself."