🎶 “Won’t you stay with us for Shabbos, Minyan Man?” 🎶

Full marks if you recognize the lyrics. Bonus points if you can name the songwriter. 

When Toras Avigdor received an email from Mr. Victor Shine—the Minyan Man himself—saying he wanted to become a distributor in his shtiebel, it was time for an interview.

 

Memphis

It was 1970, and communities across the nation were still reeling from the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. in Memphis, Tennessee, two years earlier.

1970 was also the year five-year-old Victor Shine and his Jewish Conservative family arrived in Memphis. The city was still in turmoil, and riots had erupted amid chaotic desegregation efforts. Faced with the upheaval and violence, public school was not an option.

There was nothing to be done. Little Victor would have to attend Memphis Hebrew Academy. 

With the gentle encouragement and support of Rabbi Ephraim Greenblatt zt”l, beloved school rebbe and baal korei, the family grew closer to Torah.

It was the beginning of a beautiful relationship with Yiddishkeit, and Mr. Shine has never looked back.

 

Under the Protection of Rabbi Miller’s Torah 

Mr. Shine became religious around the time of his bar mitzvah, and his parents followed a few years later. His father was fifty-two, and already an enthusiastic talmid of Rabbi Miller.

“He listened to Rabbi Miller six, eight, ten hours a day, even before he was religious,” remembers his son fondly. “This was his Torah. All the time he was working, that’s what he would do. He would just listen to those tapes. And whenever we went to New York, we’d go to the Thursday night shiur.”

Mr. Shine recalls speaking to Rabbi Miller one time after waiting on line. “I told Rabbi Miller that my father’s face lights up whenever he hears the rabbi’s name. And Rabbi Miller replied, ‘You tell your father that when I hear his name, my face will light up!’ That was very special.”

Around that time, Mr. Shine senior was in a bad car accident. “My father, who worked as a printer, was meeting with Rabbi Hanoch Teller, about publishing his book. He drove Rabbi Teller to the airport, and on the way back, he hit a telephone pole and wrapped the car around it. The doctors said there was no way he was going to make it.

“But my mother, who had recently become religious, said, ‘He was on his way to do a mitzvah. He’s going to be fine.’

“I went out to the scene of the accident and found a Rabbi Miller tape in the cassette player of the car. I brought the tape to my father in the hospital, and noticed that the number of his room in the hospital matched the number on the tape. Maybe his story was supposed to end, but now that he’d become a religious Jew, he was under the protection of Rabbi Miller. We were very grateful. He lived until the age of eighty-eight.”

The Toras Avigdor booklets are precious to Mr. Shine. “I look forward to reading the Toras Avigdor every single week. I can’t wait to crack it open and see what he has to say. You can literally hear his voice. They’ve captured the essence of who the rabbi is, and he lives on through these pamphlets. As Gabbai Rishon in my shtiebel, I want to make sure it’s available to everyone, and that’s why I volunteered to become a distributor.”

 

Grabbing Chessed Opportunities

Although Mr. Shine has worked in various industries over the years, including IT, telecom, and construction consulting, he spends more of his time these days learning in kollel and involved in chessed projects. For this, he publicly salutes his eishes chayil, who works hard to make sure her husband is fulfilled in his learning and klal work. She is a great example of what it means to daven and to rely on Hashem. 

It’s his parents Mr. Shine credits with his love for people and willingness to go above and beyond for anyone who needs help. 

“My parents taught me from an early age. Everybody knew you could stop at the Shine house in Memphis without warning for a bed and a kosher meal,” he says. His mother also took over a clothing gemach once they moved to New York in 1992. She would sort through the clothing, remove stained items, and sew whatever could be repaired.

Mr. Shine is part of a group of volunteers, called “MeforWe,” who visit Holocaust survivors. “We visit weekly with them. We bring them food for Shabbos. And we just sit and schmooze.” (You can find out more about this special organization at meforweproject.com.)

Sometimes chessed means doing your part and letting Hashem take care of the rest. You might remember little Yosef Shapiro, the seven-year-old who went missing in Canarsie Park almost four years ago. Well, guess who found him after joining the community-wide search? 

Shidduchim are another pet project. “I started right when we became empty nesters,” he says, “and then I had about twenty-eight people I’d spoken with. My singles range from seventeen to seventy-five.”

He speaks candidly about seizing the moment.

“There are always opportunities,” he says. “When you go into the grocery store, and you see a person with their hand out asking for tzedakah, don’t wait till you’re coming out and your hands are full of bags and the person may not even be there anymore. Give them money on the way in. Here’s your opportunity right now. Grab it! You’re getting a lot more than you’re giving. Take it! Whenever Hashem gives you something, just take it.”

 

Music and Creativity

If you still don’t know who Minyan Man is, here’s the scoop. When Mr. Shine was just seventeen, he wrote a song called “Minyan Man.” It tells the story of a lone Jew who steps off the bus one Friday afternoon in Mobile, Alabama, and discovers a tiny group of Jewish men who haven’t been able to put together a minyan since one of their congregants passed away. His arrival completes the minyan, much to the joy of the community, and allows them to celebrate Shabbos together. 

The song was made famous at the time by Shlock Rock and was resurrected ten years ago when the Maccabeats released an a capella version.

It’s not the only song Mr. Shine has written. “Fellow Jews” and “Secret Weapon” are both his creations, performed by the Bergen County Girls’ Choir, led by Mrs. Sorah Shaffren, sister of Mordechai Shapiro.

Unsurprisingly, he’s an accomplished musician who plays the violin, guitar, and chromatic harmonica, rehearsing regularly with a Crown Heights bluegrass band. (Oh, and by the way, he also plays the mountain dulcimer. You know what that is, right?) 

Mr. Shine’s creative talents have also led him to The Jewish Echo, where he writes a popular column of exactly seven hundred words on a variety of topics.

 

Stop Looking Back

In his unassuming way, Mr. Shine is a living model of Rabbi Miller’s Torah hashkafah.

“When we’re busy with the distractions of our lives, we don’t necessarily have time to pick up an apple and think about it. To look at the sky, to look at birds, to look at trees, to look at the world that we’re in, to look at our own bodies, and just imagine the tremendous kindness and intelligence with which they are created, all for us to enjoy.

“Hashem just wants to have a relationship with us. He wants us to connect with Him, for Him to be there for us, and just to have a constant feeling of I love you, Hashem. Thank you, Hashem. I’m so grateful and proud to belong to the Chosen People who have been selected to shine a light in the world.

“Don’t focus on what you did wrong as much as asking how to move forward. Do teshuvah, yes. But don’t let the mistakes of the past weigh you down and make you feel stuck.” 

Turns out “Minyan Man” is more than a song. For Mr. Shine, it’s a way of life. Whether he’s performing, visiting, matchmaking, or searching, he knows that quietly stepping up means he’s making a difference.

 

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