Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Lion, who seemed to be everywhere at once

The blazing fire shattered the predawn quiet on Rechov Sorotzkin, in the heart of Jerusalem, last Tuesday morning. Despite the frightening images, human life was miraculously spared, but dozens of apartments did not fare as well — homes and possessions damaged or destroyed.

Joining the askanim and first responders who headed to the scene was a middle-aged man in a suit, Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Lion, who seemed to be everywhere at once, ordering city electricians and plumbers to repair private systems, sanitation workers to salvage and clean the homes, and social workers to deal with the vulnerable inhabitants.

But in the eyes of Chaim V’Chessed CEO, Paysach Freedman, what made the mayor’s involvement special was something else. Rabbi Freedman, whose organization had been marshaled to work with the many English-speaking families in the neighborhood — many of whom were literally homeless, with no family nearby — noticed a huge truckload of fresh pizzas from a kosher restaurant.

Locals, who’d been suddenly thrust from their homes and hadn’t eaten in hours, were grateful, and Rabbi Freedman first assumed the food was sponsored by the eatery, or maybe one of the chesed organizations. But it turned out the mayor had ordered the plentiful refreshments, paying out of his own pocket.

Against that backdrop, Rabbi Freedman appreciated a comment made this week when Chaim V’Chessed presented the mayor with a gift, recognizing his dedicated work on that dreadful morning.

As they made the presentation, a crusty resident of the affected neighborhood shouted out, “Moshe Lion, atah lo rosh ha’ir — you are not the mayor of this city!”

Onlookers looked at the heckler disapprovingly, but he kept on shouting, before they could stop him, “Atah ha’abba shel ha’ir!”

(Originally featured in Mishpacha, Issue 838)