Mr. David Bibi
Our dad would tell us about his uncle Dave Bibi who at a very young age was appointed President of Ahi Ezer and who was involved in so many charities within the community and beyond. He ran a very successful business and was partners with our grandfather, his brother Reuben, who designed and ran the manufacturing and his nephew Nouri Dayan, who took care of billing, collections, payables and ran the office.
Dave was the salesman and often the face of the company and was always busy. Yet one day each week was set aside for charity collecting. With whomever he was partnering with on the project, he set aside time and went office to office downtown, visiting the community businessmen and presenting the needs for each endeavor.
Sometimes he went with Mr. Mousa Mann, other times with Mr. Isaac Escava and other times with Mr. Isaac Shalom. These were some of the most important members of the community and they never saw it beneath themselves to go out collecting. And imagine if you were the one they came to visit. How could you not help? These important men left their office to come see you. How could you turn them away.
But more importantly, they set the example for everyone else and were always the first to donate.
Reprinted from the Parashat Vayakhel 5784 email of Shabbat Shalom from Cyberspce.
