The attendant pointed to the yarmulke on his head. “You lucky you Jewish,” the elderly Arab said

At the recent H3 Business Halacha Summit in Chicago, billed as “the only business networking in a Torah environment,” some 500 businessmen from across the US came to network, grow, and elevate their businesses, while learning how to make sure their businesses are in compliance with halachah. In a session discussing keeping promises and commitments, Rabbi Naftali Miller, Agudah’s national director of development, recounted that just a week before the event, a well-traveled frum businessman named Mr. Shmuly Klar found himself filling up his tank at a deserted Kentucky gas station. When he recognized that the elderly gas station attendant was talking on his phone in Arabic, he offered him a hearty “Marhaba — hello!” only to see the attendant’s demeanor suddenly turn serious and immediately terminated his conversation.  There were only the two of them in the station, and Mr. Klar started to get nervous — perhaps the attendant had taken offense at his greeting?

The attendant looked at Mr. Klar, and pointed to the yarmulke on his head. “You lucky you Jewish,” the elderly Arab said, and went on to explain that he was originally from Ramallah, but as the Jewish economy began picking up before the establishment of the State, he moved to Jerusalem where he found gainful employment from a Jewish entrepreneur. But then, he explained, the Arabs got wind that the 1967 War was about to break out and he decided to flee back to Ramallah until the Arabs conquered the entire region and pushed the Jews into the sea. (That, of course, didn’t happen. Instead, the Israelis captured the entire territories of Judea and Samaria.)

Suddenly, his income dried up, and one day as he was trying to figure out how to get some work, he noticed a group of Israeli soldiers outside of his house. Stricken by fear, he opened his door, only to see his former employer standing there in IDF fatigues. “Here is an envelope for you,” his employer told him. “I hadn’t had a chance to pay you before you left, and wanted to make sure you got the money I owed you.” And as an extra bonus, the Jewish employer gave it to him in American dollars, which would be easier for him to convert in his town.

He didn’t stay there though. The fellow came to America, where he took the cash and started a business. “Today,” he told Mr. Klar, “I own several gas stations, and the only reason I’m sitting here pumping gas is because I can’t find workers now!” Over 50 years have passed since the ‘67 War, yet a kind gesture — and a resolute commitment to settling one’s obligations — was not forgotten.

(Originally featured in Mishpacha, Issue 892)