In July 1938, delegates from thirty-two countries met at the French resort of Evian to deal with the Jewish refugee problem. With the exception of the tiny Dominican Republic, no country was willing to accept more refugees. The countries that refused included the United States, Britain, France and Australia who offered excuses for not letting in refugees. Why did the Dominican Republic allow entry to Jews whereas the other countries refused? Rafael Trujillo who was the dictator of the Dominican Republic at that time had a daughter that went to school in France. When the events in Europe were turning against the Jews, this girl would tell her father that there was only one girl who cared and was kind to her, and she was a Jew. We don’t know the identity of this Jewish girl but it was because of her that thousands of Jews were saved!
After Israeli officials met with the leader of Russia, Vladimir Putin, in 2017, Putin invited them for a state dinner. At the dinner, Putin, in a casual conversation, related a childhood story. He mentioned that he was an only child and that although his parents worked extremely hard, they were very poor. On his block there was a nice family he really liked who would constantly host him. He would play there on many afternoons, they would feed him at times and even help him with his homework. He noted that on Friday, the mother of this family would light candles followed by a festive meal soon after. When he grew older, he realized that this family was Jewish. Since then, he said that he always tried to treat Jews as well as he could.
When Moshiach comes, we will see in hindsight how every event fit in the right place, just like a puzzle where all the pieces fit perfectly. In this way, we can understand משפטי ה' אמת צדקו יחדיו, the judgements of Hashem are true, altogether righteous (Tehillim 19:10). The word יחדיו indicates when we view them all together, as an inseparable unit.
