Israel’s Benevolent Heroes Revealed

JERUSALEM (VINnews) — A social media page (https://www.facebook.com/groups/beautifulIsraelis) silhouetting Israelis who go out of their way to help others in unique ways has published a number of moving stories recently. One story concerned a bag containing a large amount of money. Chaim Mualem, the person who lost the bag, tells the story:

“I forgot a bag with 30,000 NIS in cash at a bust stop in Haifa. I returned half an hour later, wondering whether I would ever find it. A yeshiva student was sitting there and asked if he could help me. I told him the story and he said: I arrived 25 minutes ago and opened the bag. I saw a large sum of money so I said to myself that I would wait a quarter of an hour and if the person didn’t arrive I would put a note with a phone number to get hold of me. After nobody arrived I said to myself that it wouldn’t be good to leave now since maybe the person needs the money and I live in Jerusalem. I said a tehillim for the loser so that he would come fast and less than 10 minutes later you arrived, give me the requisite signs and I’ll give it to you. I gave him signs and he gave me the entire sum back. I didn’t believe I would find all of it (I used to be anti-Chareidi until now…..) I wanted to give him a nice sum but he refused to accept anything and said that it was his mitzvah. I took his picture with me….

Mualem with Chareidi finder

Jerusalem, 2 o’ clock in the afternoon. Two fifteen-year-old religious boys are trying to help a blind Arab who has lost his way. I return after 5 minutes and find them playing their guitars with the Arab between him. They said they were playing in order to raise 70 NIS which he is missing for his medicines. When they finished the job, one of them went to purchase the medicine and the other stayed to play tunes in English as the Arab had requested. Whoever you are, I take off my hat to you!

Boys playing guitar to raise money for Arab’s medicines

Friday evening in a Stockholm restaurant, I finish eating and ask for the bill. The waitress comes to me and I give her my credit card which suddenly falls to the ground. She bends down and then I see she is looking at me wide-eyed and then at the credit card. “Where are you from?” she asks and I said: Israel. She starts crying and disappears after a moment. I hasten to take my hat and coat and reach the closest exit since I am a Jew who is not liked in a hostile zone. Before I ran away she is back with another girl in chef’s clothes and points at me, still crying and shaking. I do not sense hostility from them. The waitress asks my forgiveness and her sister explains to me that they have never met an Israeli before and they just want to thank me.

Apparently they are Syrian refugees whose mother fell sick a few years ago and was in serious condition. In the dark of night she was taken to the Syrian border with Israel and from there spent three weeks in the hospital in Tzfat. Today she is fully recovered and lives with her daughters in a suburb of Stockholm. The waitress calls her mother  and I find myself talking in Arabic mixed with English and German with a woman who is crying and weeping, who asks just one thing from me: Thank all of your brothers in Israel since in their merit my girls have a mother. So I’m sending this thank-you from Stockholm to my brothers in Israel!