The Driver’s Story
Collect chessed opportunities – as many as you can
Reb Yitzchak* lived in Meah Shearim but taught in Yerushalayim’s Neve Yaakov neighborhood, a significant distance from his home. He was fortunate to make the acquaintance of Reb Tzvi, a ba’al chessed who frequently offered him rides home.
Realizing that Reb Tzvi went out of his way to do this chessed not only for him, but for others as well, Reb Yitzchak asked his benefactor what motivated him to so graciously dedicate his time to helping others this way.
“I started doing this after I got a message from Shamayim!”
Now Reb Yitzchok was very curious. “What do you mean?”
“One day,” Reb Tzvi elaborated, “I found an old man lying on a bench. I was overwhelmed with pity and asked him if he’d like to come home with me. I have a large house with a separate studio apartment, complete with its own kitchen. I offered to let the old man stay there.
“He ended up becoming a part of my family. I made sure he had everything he needed, including clothing and food. When he got sick, I made sure he went to the doctor, and I got him medication. One day, after he had been with us for a year, the old man told me, ‘I feel that my days are numbered. I want to thank you for everything you’ve done for me, but I have nothing to give you in return.’
“’ Give me a handshake,’ I responded, ‘and a promise that you’ll come back and tell me what occurs at your judgment in Heaven.’
“He gave me his promise, and shortly afterward, he passed away.
“Several months later, the old man appeared to me in a dream: ‘I came specially to see you,’ he said to me. ‘Know that you asked for something very difficult. Never ask for such a thing again. It is not easy to receive permission to descend to this world, but even after I received permission, I didn’t want to do it. It’s so good Above, and coming back down causes a great deal of suffering to the soul. But since you saved me, and I promised, I came.’
“’ I’m not allowed to tell you what happens here,’ the old man continued, ‘but because of the chessed you did for me, I can tell you one thing. For every mitzvah that a person does, if he does it with his own interests, for his own honor, the reward is reduced. Pieces of the mitzvah literally fall off. But when a person does chessed, even for honor, the mitzvah remains whole and belongs entirely to him.’
“That’s the message I received from Shamayim,” the driver concluded. “From then on, I have been dedicating an hour every day solely to doing chessed. For one hour I drive around and look for people who need rides.”
Chessed is valued very highly in Shamayim!
(Rabbi Tzvi Nakar, 24/7: Contemporary Stories of Hashgachah Pratis and Emunah: Tfutza Publications, pages 39-40.)
Take This Home
Can you follow Reb Tzvi’s lead? For the next week, dedicate five or ten minutes a day (or more, if you can!) at a specific time of day to doing chessed.
In Short
Olam Hazeh is temporary, and nothing in life is guaranteed. Life’s challenges are Hashem’s conversation with us. How we respond, many times, defines our ultimate relationship with Him.
One of the measures of greatness is how we respond when life doesn’t go as planned…
Here’s an important life principle: Ultimately, greatness and our fullest potential will only be found as we dig deeply to respond effectively to difficult challenges.
One of the most powerful lessons I ever learned was watching my father-in-law, Mr. Avi Shulman, and his first wife, Mrs. Buna Shulman, a”h, deal with the terrible illness that claimed her life in its prime…
The Shulmans recognized that the challenge they were facing needed a response. It wasn’t random, chas v’shalom; it was an opportunity.
Every nisayon is an opportunity; the greater the nisayon, the greater the opportunity. Every opportunity can bring me closer to my purpose; the greater the opportunity, the greater my ability to reach my tachlis.
We are all here to actualize our potential. Period.
(Rabbi Sroy Levitansky, Living Your Life by Design, Not by Default: Israel Bookshop, pages 191-192.)
It Happened to Me!
My Olam Haba Moment
One of the ideas I gained from this newsletter is that bringing Olam Haba into my life doesn’t necessarily require doing more, but rather, it means doing “different.” As in, focusing on what I’m doing, realizing how the davening and mitzvos I’m doing anyway are connecting me with Hashem and securing my (eternal) future. In that light, a lot of what I do every day I always looked at as just part of being a mother. But really, it’s a chance to do chessed all day long – cooking for and feeding my family, laundry, giving rides to the bus and school, helping with homework, babysitting for grandchildren, even offering a listening ear to a family member who had a hard day… Thanks for helping me change my life just by changing my perspective!
D.P., Monsey
Share how Olam Haba awareness is making a difference in your life. Send your story to [email protected].
