The other day, a friend called me and told me the following story: In the Shul that he attends, he was introduced to a person who does driving on the side to supplement his income.
Although using Uber is more economical, he hired the driver for an early pick up the next day. That evening he felt unwell and texted the driver that he needed to cancel the trip, adding that there is a possibly that if he feels better he’ll reschedule the trip for the following day.
The next day he felt better and made arrangements to take an early flight the following day. He contacted the driver to pick him up the next morning. When he woke up, he received a text from the airline that his flight was significantly delayed and logistically it did not make sense to take the flight. He canceled the flight. But then he remembered that he had hired the driver who was due to come in an hour.
He was ready to text him and cancel the ride, but then it struck him, it would be the second time he is canceling him in two days. He was willing to pay him in any case; however, he knew the driver would not take money if he didn’t provide his services.
So he decided to take the ride to the airport in order to pay the driver. When he arrived at the airport, he gave the driver the fee, and ‘tipped’ him with the fee of the previous cancelled trip!
Once he was in the airport he took the escalator down to the pickup area and took an Uber home. Once he was home and ready to go to Shul he realized that the driver would also be in Shul and it would be an awkward situation. So he went somewhere else to Daven.
Later that morning, he reflected on what he did and shared it with someone. The person could not stop laughing at what he did and thought he was Ah Bisel Meshuga – a bit crazy.
He called me and asked my opinion. I also began to laugh, but it was not at him, it was out of appreciation of who he was. I said to him, “Wow! That is amazing! You went beyond the call of duty to make a person feel he is earning his livelihood with dignity! I added, this story is inspiring and book-worthy!”
That’s why I’m sharing it with my readership.
In truth, a person does not think and do something like this in a vacuum. It can only come if one leads his life practicing the value of treating people properly, respectfully, sensitively and generously. He does so for his family, friends, employees, and to fellow human beings.
Our uncle and aunt, Rabbi Yisroel and Shoshana Lefkowitz o.b.m. were a paradigm of welcoming guests in their home, even for extended periods of time, with each guest being treated royally.
There were times when it was not convenient for having guests, particularly as Pesach was approaching and cleaning and cooking for the Holiday was in full swing. Yet, they were committed to opening their home to guests who needed to be in the New York area.
My aunt shared with me the following story. A few guests finally left the house two days before Pesach. As they were on the way to the airport, she got a frantic call that one of them had left their partial denture soaking in the sink and needed it desperately because it would be difficult to eat the Matzos without them.
My aunt had the unpleasant job of taking it out of the sink and placing it in a bag. The question was how was she going to get it to the airport as it was impossible for her to go? She called her husband who was in the middle of a busy day at work and told him what happened. She thought the best option was to send it to the airport with a car service.
My aunt then said to me, “You know what your unbelievable Uncle said to me?” “I’m going to leave the office and pick it up from home and hand deliver it to the guest at the airport. Our guests are ours until they step on the plane and we have to give it in the most dignified way!”
When a Mitzvah such as Chesed is so cherished and ingrained in a person, they may do what may seem way beyond or even laughable to an observer, but to them it does not seem extra-ordinary, because it became second nature.
In this week’s Parsha the Torah speaks about the Manna, the miraculous food the Jewish nation received daily throughout their 40-year sojourn in the desert.
There was one day of the week that it did not appear, and that was on Shabbos. On Friday, each person received an extra portion for the Shabbos meals.
G-d gave all the information about the Manna to Moshe to relate to the nation. One thing he did not share with them was that on the sixth day they would receive double.
Sure enough, on Friday when they realized that they got double the amount, they came to Moshe to ask about it. Moshe then told them that G-d had told him that on Shabbos Manna would not appear and they would get double on Friday.
Rabbi Chaim Shmuelevitz o.bm. asks, why did Moshe originally hold back from telling the Jews about the Friday phenomenon? Why did he wait for them to experience it?
Reb Chaim explained that human nature has the tendency to be initially impressed with something and when he gets used to it, he almost expects it.
Moshe felt that if he told the Jews about the double portion of Manna right in the beginning of the week, by the time Friday would come they wouldn’t see the wonder of it, because they would expect a double portion. Moshe wanted them to experience the wow effect of collecting the unexpected double portion of Manna so that they would fully appreciate it and continually recall and reflect on their surprising experience.
At the beginning of each of the three Shabbat meals we eat during Shabbos, we make Hamotzie over two loaves of Challa to commemorate the two portions of Manna.
Of all of the miracles of the Manna – it is the phenomenon of the double Shabbat Manna portion, that we still recall.
While doing Chesed inherently and in a reflexive way is remarkable and what we aim for, Moshe taught us to be ever mindful to show appreciation and recognition when receiving from others!
