My most recent trip to America was highly stressful since my plane landed in New Jersey on Friday morning. After deplaning, I began walking around in a haze, quickly trying to make phone calls to my family back in Israel before Shabbos began. Before long, a man came over to me with a request. “Excuse me, sir. My name is Mohammad, and I am from Pakistan.” I wondered if I should remain standing where I was, as I felt quite uncomfortable. But I decided to do so. “If you are able to,” continued Mohammad, “I am in need of exactly fourteen dollars to get to Manhattan.” I paused, taking in the fact that I had just landed and this was my very first greeting and introduction to America.
“Sure,” I said, as I grabbed hold of my wallet. I ended up giving him twenty dollars and told him to buy a cup of coffee with the extra cash. But then Mohammad told me something that opened my eyes.
“You probably think I am a conman trying to get money out of you,” he said. Mohammad then began detailing his life story. “I am originally from Pakistan, after which I moved to England. But things have not really worked out there, so now I am here.” I was at first slightly doubtful about the story, though after asking him questions about cricket and life in England and hearing his intelligent answers, I was reassured of his story.
“Ever since I have gotten here to America,” Mohammad went on to say, “life has been very difficult. For the last hour, I have been walking around asking for fourteen dollars. First, I went to my Pakistani friends, and they didn’t give me anything. Then I went to whoever I thought was Muslim, but I still didn’t get anything. Frustrated, I started approaching just about anyone in the airport. But then I finally said to myself, ‘You know what? Let me ask a Jew. I am sure they will help me.’ I just want to thank you. This is the second time this has happened to me, and both times the only one who helped me was someone Jewish. That just says something about you people.”
Our standing reputation as the nation of G-d who leads lives filled with kindness and the commitment to making a kiddush Hashem leaves an indelible impact wherever we go. It paints a positive image of a Jew in the eyes of those who observe us and ensures that Hashem, His Torah, and His nation are held in the highest regard.
