In his sefer Barchi Nafshi, Rav Yitzchok Zilberstein shares the story of a talmid chacham who accidentally struck a parked car while driving to Meron. The man left a note on the windshield of the damaged car with his contact information, promising to pay for the repairs, and proceeded on his way.
Several hours after he returned home, someone knocked at the door. He opened the door and was startled when the visitor, a complete stranger and obviously irreligious Jew, held up a camera and snapped a picture of him.
“I am the owner of the car you hit,” the stranger said. “I was so astonished by your actions that I simply had to come and take a picture of you. You must be the only person in the world who would leave a note so he could pay for damages when he could easily have avoided doing so!”
Several weeks later, the man showed up at the talmid chacham’s doorstep again. This time, he said, “My wife and I have decided that if this is the way a religious person behaves, we want to be part of your community!”
Reproduced from A Life Worth Living by Rabbi Shraga Freedman with permission of the copyright holders, ArtScroll/Mesorah Publications, Ltd.
