I would like to suggest that he include a visit to a prison.

How can we complain that our mattress is not comfortable enough? If there is too much or too little air blowing in through a window or if a dish was left on the stove too long, we complain. Rabbosai, we have no idea what discomfort really is. This is not the time and place to present you with legal analysis and share the countless details that point to what may go down as one of the greatest injustices of our time. I hope that you are not saying to yourself, “Well,he did something wrong and he got what he deserved.” I challenge you to find another contemporary case that comes close to the travesty and unheard of cruelty of this one.

Suffice it to say, that with the release of portions of the trial transcripts, evidence is emerging that an innocent man was wrongfully convicted of crimes he did not commit. The jury’s verdict was engineered by an overzealous prosecution aided by one-sided rulings from the bench that essentially robbed Sholom Mordechai of a fair trial.

One of the things that Sholom Mordechai Rubashkin wanted to do during my short three-and-half-hour visit was learn Torah. I knew of his great mesirus nefesh for Torah, so I planned accordingly and brought along a sefer. Together, we went through a shmuess of the Nesivos Shalom on the topic of emunah in relation to the Yom Tov of Pesach. You can’t imagine how the words spoke directly to Sholom Mordechai. His face literally lit up when he read passages such as, “What makes someone a greater tzaddik is how great his emunah is.” The Pekudei Hashem yishorim mesamchei lev was so evident. I felt that the words of Torah were bringing life to a place of torment and loneliness.

If only there was an opportunity for people to voluntarily exchange places with Sholom Mordechai for a day, I would love to be able to do that, I remarked during my visit. Upon further reflection, and being totally honest with myself, I realized that I don’t think I could do it - not even for a day.

At one point, I couldn’t contain myself. I turned to Sholom Mordechai and asked him, bluntly and directly, the question that had been on my mind: “Sholom Mordechai,how are you surviving?”

His response was immediate and almost made my question sound foolish.

“Vos heist?” he said. “Clinging to Hashem with mitzvos and Torah is the only thing that makes it livable here. Without that, I don’t want to think what would be.”

I know that there are hundreds and perhaps thousands who say Tehillim daily for Sholom Mordechai ben Rivkah and that, as a result of the heroic and brave efforts of Rabbi Pinchos Lipschutz, much awareness and a substantial amount of money have been raised, but there is much more that could and should be done.

Before saying goodbye, I asked Sholom Mordechai what I can do for him. What else could I say? He responded, “Ein chovish matir atzmo mibais assurim. Please give a message to the askanim to do whatever is possible to bring an end to this nightmare.” With a tremendous expression of ahavas Yisroel, he asked that I convey his deep appreciation to all those who are doing anything to try to bring about a yeshuah for him.

During a conversation that I had with a friend following my visit, I mentioned that if I were true to my words, I would give up everything I do and devote my time on behalf of Sholom Mordechai. I honestly don’t know what we should do, but I suspect that if enough reasonable people would closely examine the details of the case, beginning from day one, including taking a look at who Sholom Mordechai is, what he did in his life and how he is spending his life now, there would be riots in the streets. An honest examination of this case demonstrates such startling and shocking revelations and exposes a disturbing breakdown of justice.

As soon as I walked into the prison, I received a smile from the sheriff, who said, “You must be visiting Rubashkin.” One of the prison guards told me that in all his years working in the system, he has never seen a prisoner receive so much mail. That did not come as a surprise to me. I assume that Sholom Mordechai receives hundreds of pieces of mail a day. I encourage you, if you are not reading this on Shabbos, to stop what you are doing now and write a letter. Send your correspondence to: Inmate Sholom Rubashkin, Linn County Correctional Center, PO Box 608, 53 Third Avenue Bridge, Cedar Rapids, IA 52406.

Chazal tell us that, at times, a rich giver is a greater beneficiary than the poor person who receives the gift. That is precisely the way I feel today. I went to visit my brother and I saw firsthand how a person can maintain his avodah and emunah, and understand that he is an eved Hashem, wherever he is. My life was enriched. I saw a living example of accepting yissurim be’ahava. May our tefillos, together with our acts of hishtadlus, bring about a yeshuah speedily.