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Jewish World Review Oct. 12, 1999 / 2 Mar-Cheshvan, 5760
So, I have to admit, I kept putting the mattress shopping off until company
arriving from England forced me into action.
I was quite delighted to have a friend tell me I could shop for a mattress on
the phone. "Just dial 1-800….." I was skeptical. But the thought of an
evening at home without searching for a parking spot encouraged me to call
and order. Within three hours, a new mattress was on my son's bed and the old
one hauled away. I had a guarantee in my hands and a happy son. What could
be easier?
Having just relocated last year, I know all about the trauma of moving to a
new community where you know few people and fewer places to shop. Wouldn't it
have been nice to dial this 1-800 number and press "h" for help needed.
Press the number of people you need to show up to unpack your boxes, cook
your meals, clean your house, do your errands and listen to you complain.
Then when you are all organized, these individuals return to the magic
1-800land, and you haven't imposed on anyone.
What about the scholarship money my and other yeshivas desperately need?
What about those children we turn away because their families can't afford
the tuition? I could dial up my 1-800 number and the pre-recorded message
would state, "What is your problem please?" I would press "m" for money.
The message would then ask me to press the amount needed. I would press,
let's say, $1,000,000. The message would then state, "This money has been
forwarded to your bank account. You may access it instantly." What a
mechayah! Who would need the endless hours of fundraising necessary to run a
private institution?
I remember when I was a child, I loved reading magic stories. Some of these
stories highlighted heroes who could solve problems or talismen, which
fulfilled wishes. There were stories of time travel, which enabled the
heroes to put the world into a peaceful and unfragmented state.
There are few of us who wouldn't wish for a few small miracles in our
everyday lives.
I look back on some stressful situations in my own life. How did I get
through them without this 1-800 number?
Last year, I assumed the position of General Studies Principal of a yeshiva.
The classrooms needed much updating. Where would we get such funding? A man
stepped forward from the community, gave us money for a new computer lab and
then offered to match any funds given over the summer to help buy new
classroom furniture. What is more, he has insisted on remaining anonymous.
Dial 1-800-…..
That is the secret of the 1-800-SOLVE-A-PROBLEM.
During this season, we think about how we can better our own souls. One of
the best ways is to help others, whether a family member, someone you met at
your job or a total stranger. The action may be planned or spontaneous. You
may never be thanked by the person you helped -or the action may turn out to
be a major part of both of your lives.
Several popular books on the market tell us about good things that people do
for each other. One reason for their success is that, living in fragmented
communities, we search for friendliness and support that many feel existed in
communities of their youth.
We must remember that location has little to do with good deeds. The only
place that we need to search for these acts of goodness is within ourselves.
The more we give to others, the more we receive. That doesn't mean that we
will win the next lottery because we helped someone across the street. But it
does mean that we grow as people.
For many years when I still lived in Indiana, I taught Holocaust Literature
at Ball State University. I read about many heroic acts of individuals
during this dark time. One person that continues to stand out in my mind is
from Primo Levi's Survival in Auschwitz. Levi, a Jew caught working with an
Italian partisan group, is shipped to Auschwitz. After a short time, this
gentle intellectual began to despair. Worse for him than the physical
torments, was the degradation he felt as a person.
Employed outside of the camp in one of the many industries using slave labor,
he encountered Lorenzo, a fellow Italian and a Christian, who was a civilian
laborer. Lorenzo had more freedom than Levi and was able to slip Levi a slice
of bread and part of his rations each day for six months. Levi wrote that
Lorenzo did this without the sense that he did anything heroic. He did it
because he "was good and simple and did not think that one did good for a
reward."
Crediting him with saving his life, Levi wrote that Lorenzo reminded him
daily, through his humanity, that he was still a human being and that life
was worth living.
We may never achieve such heroism in our daily lives but we may be surprised
at how much we help others with small gestures or words of comfort. When we
befriend others, we find that we don't need front porches or neighborhood
grocery stores to keep us in touch with those around us. We don't even need
a magic 1-800 number.
What we do need to do is to reach out. Helping others may turn out to be the
greatest gift we can give
Dial 1-800-SOLVE-A-PROBLEM
By Susan R. Weintrob
Why couldn't life be more like that, I mused? Just call up
1-800-SOLVE-A-PROBLEM. I could solve anything.
Several years ago, my family was driving back to Muncie, Indiana (our former
home) from Indianapolis one stormy night. A holiday had just ended and we
were making the 60-mile trip from the nearest Orthodox synagogue. We saw an
object in the road ahead of us and my husband swerved to avoid it. We went
off the road onto a grassy incline that separated the highway lanes. We
could not get the car back up onto the road. (These were the days before
cell phones.) We were all dressed up and the traffic on this rainy night was
sparse. We thought we might have to sit there for hours. Suddenly, a car
pulled up. Two young men jumped out of the car and towed us up to the road.
We thanked them profusely and offered to give them money. They refused.
"Just help someone else when you're able. That's repayment enough."
JWR contributor Susan R. Weintrob is the principal of the Yeshiva of Manhattan Beach in
Brooklyn, NY. Send your comments to her by clicking here.
08/24/99: Education in a Box
07/06/99: The responsibility to teach every child
03/22/99: Back to the
Jewish Future
12/28/98: Brooklyn Cousins
12/04/98: A birthday in Brooklyn
