The chesed of Klal Yisrael spans continents

Living Higher

L

ast week, Rabbi Naftali Miller, Agudath Israel’s National Director of Development, received a phone call from a number with a 972 area code, signifying a call from Israel. The caller identified herself as Mrs. Gottlieb, a resident of Jerusalem’s Old City.

“Is this Rabbi Naftali Miller?” she wanted to know. When Rabbi Miller answered affirmatively, Mrs. Gottlieb seemed relieved. She explained that her husband had found a wallet in one of the neighborhood’s winding alleyways. He opened it, intent on fulfilling the mitzvah of hashavas aveidah, but while there was an American license and some credit cards inside, there were no contact details.

Mr. Gottlieb had brought the wallet home, and he and his wife carefully looked through it, hoping to find a way to reach the owner. When she found Rabbi Miller’s business card, she tentatively dialed the number.

Rabbi Miller wasn’t familiar with the name on the license and asked what the listed address was. When Mrs. Gottlieb told him it was Lawrence, New York, he quickly reached out to his good friends, Lawrence residents Gadi and Shabsi Fuchs, who spread the word around the neighborhood. In a short time, the wallet’s owner was located and arrangements were made for the lost item to be returned to its rightful owner, who had recently relocated from Lawrence to Israel.

It was a heartwarming hashavas aveidah story, and Rabbi Miller was gratified to have played a role in facilitating it, but he wondered how his business card had gotten into the wallet in the first place.

Jogging his memory, he finally remembered that on his last trip to Israel, he had been approached at the Kosel by an American oleh. The man explained that he had recently launched a night kollel for balabatim in Israel. The kollel was growing, and now he needed someone with organizational expertise to assist in setting up the backend to ensure it ran smoothly.

As it happened, this fellow came to daven at the Kosel when he spotted Rabbi Miller, whom he knew to be an organizational executive with Agudath Israel of America and who might be in a position to help out.

Rabbi Miller was eager to help. He handed over his business card, and the two men agreed to be in touch after Rabbi Miller arrived back to the US. They never ended up reconnecting, though, because the wallet — along with the business card with Rabbi Miller’s contact information — was misplaced.

But the chesed of Klal Yisrael spans continents. The wallet was lost, along with the critical American contact information, yet it was found by an Israeli who spoke a different language but shared a common destiny. So, whether it’s a New Yorker reaching out to a New Yorker in Israel, or an Israeli reaching out to a New Yorker in New York, a Jew needn’t worry. Somewhere, someone will find the thing you’re missing and will turn the world over to have it returned to you.

HAPPENING IN... TEXAS

The latest developments in Houston, Texas brought particular nachas to those who invested resources and efforts into its growth.

Rabbi Yisroel Shulman, who moved down south from Lakewood three years ago to join the Kollel of Houston, assumed the position of executive director of Yeshiva Torat Emet in time for the 2023–2024 school year, joining Rabbi Yerachmiel Garfield and the current administrative team at Houston’s elementary school.

Rabbi Shulman, a grandson of  venerated Torah Umesorah leader Rabbi Avi Shulman a"h and son of Rabbi Eli Shulman, the menahel at Lakewood’s Yeshiva Orchos Chaim, now brings the finest in chinuch pedigree to Texas. The decision of yungeleit to stay in the community is often a pivotal test for growing Torah cities, and the installation of a kollel graduate at the helm of a communal institution represents a new generation of Torah-anchored leadership for Space City.

Overheard

“Tzeischem l’shalom, malachei hashalom” 

— Rabbi Judah Mischel, executive director of Camp HASC, bidding farewell to his beloved staff members as the last bus pulled out of the Parksville campus with the closing of the 2023 summer season.

Rabbi Mischel rarely misses an opportunity to extol the boundless love and dedication exhibited by HASC’s incredible team of counselors and support staff. As the final bus exited the campus, Rabbi Mischel whispered a heartfelt goodbye.

(Originally featured in Mishpacha, Issue 975)