Cleveland, Ohio, 1940s.
Every day, young Tzvi Elimelech would be nagged for not partaking in the department store’s lunch. All the employees were given free food in the lunchroom, and though his coworkers knew he only ate kosher, they enjoyed his company and urged him to join them while he ate his food. But for no money in the world would Tzvi Elimelech ever join them at the table. He was a Yid, and he wanted to preserve his kedushah to the best of his ability. “It’s bad enough that I have to work in such an environment,” he thought to himself. “But they want me to socialize with them as well? That’s too much.”
This didn’t come easy. He knew that sitting alone everyday as an outcast was not going to help him get a promotion. Befriending the employers and making friends with the employees were good signs that one cared about the company and enjoyed working there. Secluding himself was sabotaging his possibility for a better job, but young Tzvi Elimelech, otherwise known as Sidney Greenberger, would not bend for any raise in the world. He put his priority — Yiddishkeit — first in line.
One day, during the lunchbreak, the department store’s siren blared. In no time, cops surrounded the building. Out of intense curiosity, all the workers dropped their lunches to inquire what happened. Very quickly, they learned that a robbery had taken place in the jewelry department. While all the workers were out to lunch — literally — someone had come and emptied the shelves clean. Bracelets. Necklaces. Diamond rings. Everything.
The police came to investigate, but after a lengthy investigation, they’d only scraped together a bare minimum of information — if anything.
Then it hit Mr. Greenberger. While he was eating lunch in solitude, he’d noticed something strange: While the elevator had been resting midway between floors, a staff member had taken a black package and had tossed it on top of the elevator. (In those days, elevators were an open cubicle that moved up several feet at a time. Every press of the button lifted it a few more feet until it got to the desired location. It was therefore possible for one to stop midway.)
At that time, what he saw perked no curiosity; why would he mix in to what a guy is doing? But now that everyone was abuzz regarding the robbery, he thought he might have some valuable evidence. He went ahead to investigate and found the black bag still right on top of the elevator. When he unfastened the bag, the glitter radiating from within was blinding. The bag was glowing from the shine of the diamonds.
He’d found them!
Charged with adrenaline, Mr. Greenberger went running to report the discovery. In no time, the cops were on the second floor, the place where Mr. Greenberger had eaten lunch, heading to the elevators to investigate the scene. Now with the jewelry recovered, Mr. Greenberger then disclosed the identity of the thief, and a chase was sent out. It didn’t take long for them to find the burglar, who was subsequently sent to prison.
Several days later, after the dust had settled, the supervisor called the hero of the story into his office to offer him a promotion. Not only did they add to his paycheck, but he was taken from working in the shipping department to being a salesperson in the jewelry department — a superior advancement.
That was the beginning of a new career. Ever since then, Mr. Greenberger found his place in the jewelry department, and that’s how he supported his family. He developed a keen eye for jewelry. With just a glance at a tray of diamonds, he was able to pinpoint which one was the finest one. After some 20 years, he was hired to work in JB Robinson as a sales representative.
He was entrusted by the wealthiest, who were looking for nothing other than the highest quality. His honesty and experience offered him a name that no one else had, and that’s why people came from far and wide for his service. At the end of his career, he was honored as the top salesman.
All this was only because he preserved his kedushah. If not, he would have never noticed the stolen goods, and he might have been packaging goods all his life.
So, while he thought he was losing money by gaining in Yiddishkeit, in truth, he was gaining money while gaining in Yiddishkeit.
It paid itself off.
Immensely.
