I recently picked up a new selection from Shaar Press, titled Class Acts - True stories about the power of caring. Many of the short vignettes speak highly about various educators whose lives were turned around by an incident between them and a teacher from their youth. Other stories are told from the teachers viewpoint, how the right action at the right time changed the course of their students' lives.
Amidst these stories is one of the most amazing stories I've seen in a long time. The protaganist is The Disco Rabbi, of whom we've already dedicated a post to on this site.
A fellow gets on a plane from Israel to America, and notices someone stately sitting a few rows away. He senses that it is someone special, by the way he sees him interact with those around him. The man looks familiar, yet he can't place him. Finally, he asks someone who tells him that it is Rabbi Yitzchak Dovid Grossman of Migdal HaEmek, otherwise known as "The Disco Rabbi".
A stewardess approaches the Rabbi pleading for a Bracha, crying that her son has just been selected to join an elite IDF fighting unit. He calmly blesses her, but she wants a Havtacha, a promise that all will be OK. He sees that his words are having no effect, so he painstakingly removes a Kameah (amulet) from his wallet and tells her to have her son wear it at all times. This finally placates the woman, who returns to her duties.
The man who witnesses this, approaches Rabbi Grossman and asks if he also can have a Kameah. Rabbi Grossman replies that he is sorry, but that is the only one he had! It was given to him by his great-grandfather, and he had carried it with him all these years until now.
What is amazing about this story is not only that Rabbi Grossman was able to part with a family heirloom to calm a fellow Jewess, but that no one would have been the wiser had the second fellow not asked for a Kameah also.
Chazaq for the Chizuq!
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