My friend, a Jew who was mischazeik, works as an air conditioning installer and repairman. One night my friend got an urgent call at 12:30 to repair an air conditioner. He knew the person who called him and decided to answer his call.
When he started puttering with the engine outside in the dark, the bushes surrounding the engine confused him. He mixed up the cables, and the compressor blew.
Now a war was raging inside him. The owner of the home did not understand anything about air conditioners, and he could tell him that the compressor had to be replaced. But he could also tell him the truth – that the problem had happened because of his mistake, and that he would cover the cost of the damage.
That short war ended in victory. My friend told the baal habayis that because of his mistake the compressor had burned out, and he would switch it the next day at no charge. The compressor would cost him about 800 shekels.
When my friend left the building he met his partner, who was sitting in a car. His partner told him that a few minutes earlier a Yid had told him that he had a spare air conditioner engine sitting dismantled on his window. He would be happy to give it away for free.
My friend immediately drove over, took the compressor, and went back to install it on the air conditioner that he was repairing. Within twenty minutes the matter was taken care of, and it didn’t end up costing him anything!
It was amazing to see how the nisyaon of whether or not to tell the owner of the house the truth was only a nisayon. What a joy it is to see such he’aras Panim: My friend did the right thing, gained a clear conscience, and did not lose out at all.
