He was not a regular in shul. Nevertheless when I heard his daughter was engaged I decided to stop by.
As I was leaving he asked if I would meet with him after the midnight Maariv. I looked at his face and saw pain. I told him to come on Wednesday. He asked “This is between us?” I assured him it would be confidential.
At 12:15 a.m. Wednesday he arrived.
“You do not know me well. By all outward appearances I am a successful rebbi. I have a wonderful wife and children. I daven vasikin and have many chavrusos. However I am in deep pain. In fact sometimes the pain is so great I consider doing the unthinkable to myself.
“I suffer from depression. If you’ve never experienced it you cannot imagine what depression is.
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