Jaw Dropping Chessed Story!! Mi Kamcha Yisrael!
I”m having a very hard time understanding it all. Every Tisha Baav I hear that “if the Beis Hamikdash was not built in your generation, it is as if it was destroyed in your generation.” On my way to the Chofetz Chaim video today, I said “Hashem, I seriously don’t get it. Just look at your Jews, how could the Beis Hamikdash NOT be rebuilt??!!”. My mind zoomed back to the events that occured in a whirlwind Thursday. Thursday was the last day of Camp Simcha Special for the boys. My friend and I knew one of the boy campers who lives in LA, so we decided to meet him at the airport with pizza and donuts.
We helped all the LA campers with their luggage, checking in, and getting them to security. Once they walked through security, we were unable to stay with them. We decided to walk (in the insane heat) to the next terminal to help the London campers off. One camper was super cute and I asked for his signature. Unfortunately, the only thing I had available was make up. With his pudgy face,big brown eyes, and mop of curly hair he said (accent and all) “I want to autograph my name on your forehead!!”. I jumped back laughing “haaa nooo way, I’m in shidduchim, I need to get a shidduch!”. Suddenly I heard the all- too familiar motto of Camp Simcha being chanted “Do it for the kids, Do it for the kids”. In camp, you do EVERYTHING for the kids. You take yourself out of every equation and do whatever you’d never usually do…. but you do it for the kids. That’s all they needed to say… I stepped forward, bent down, and felt the liquid eyeliner swoop across my forehead. And then I saw the smiles on all the kids faces. Finally the time had come to take them up to security, and that we did. As my friend and I moved on to the next group, the Canadians, the incredible man orchestrating all the Camp Simcha Newark departures informed us that one of the Canadian campers didn’t have his passport on him, so he and a staff member were waiting behind while the others went through security. The passport ended up in two states away, and another incredible volunteer was already on the way down to pick it up. I was dumbfounded…a volunteer was going to drive several hours to pick up a passport and drive it back up to this camper. We offered to pick up food for the staff member and camper who were waiting for the passport, and ended up walking to the 7/11 across from the airport. I felt like I was on a jungle gym as I swung my legs over the metal divider to get across the highway. We picked up stuff and ran back to the airport. Against our wanting, it was time for us to leave ,as we had to pick up food from a warehouse to deliver to Tomche Shabbos.
A little after ten, I decided to reach out to the incredible person running all around the airport making sure everything was running smoothly, to thank him for all that he does for Chai Lifeline/Camp Simcha and to make sure that camper (whose passport was supposed to arrive by 7) had made it safely on the plane. His response “Funny story, we are still here. And my phone is dying.” I knew that this man needed his phone. He was keeping in touch with the camper’s parents, with camp, with everyone…he needed a phone.
I couldn’t go to Newark alone. It was the nine days and Tiki driving alone, without a gps, without a smartphone, and without a clue where she was going, at 10:30pm was just a stupid idea. I quickly reached out to two people. The first, to Chaim’s father…Chaim, the adorable boy in the hospital who I spent weeks with, the one who you all davened for. His father had once been stuck near Newark airport and had reached out to me. I int urn reached out to all my contacts who I thought may have Chaveirim of Newark’s number. Now it was my turn to get help from Chaim’s father, the same way he needed mine. I asked him for the number I had given him months ago. My plan was that if I couldn’t get there, perhaps Chaveirim of Newark could at least drop off a phone charger for him. As soon as I sent out that text, I turned to our communities mitzvah chat. The chat was started when Danny a’h was sick. I had sent out an email to you with a campaign “Do it for Danny”.. asking everyone to do mitzvos on Danny’s behalf. At the same time, my friend who had a smart phone, took that same campaign and created a community Mitzvah chat called “I DID a mitzvah”..DID- Do It for Danny. It is the most incredible chat I have ever heard of, where mitzvos and chessed are nonstop. I posted on the chat “is anyone going to Newark airport”. A second later “I am, private message me” popped onto the screen.
It didn’t make sense, why would this woman be going to Newark airport at this time of night? She tried calling me three times, as I tried finding other arrangements. Finally, I got a bunch of voice notes from her screaming at me that she wants this mitzvah. She admitted that she hadn’t really been going to Newark but as soon as she saw the message she left the gym and started driving. She gave me a million reasons why it was no big deal for her and why she was desperate for the mitzvah. I knew I had no choice and I asked her if she could pick me up.
It sent chills down my arms to think that both Chaim’s story and Danny’s suddenly became intertwined into one. Both stories suddenly came to my aid in time of need.
Within minutes she was outside my house. I had grabbed new toothbrushes and toothpaste and threw them in a bag. I figured this kid and staff member were up since the wee hours of the morning and who knew how much longer till they boarded their flight. Perhaps all they wanted was to brush their teeth! I grabbed some drinks and food and ran into the car. Once inside, I saw how excited she was to be a part of this mitzvah. I asked if she thought we could run to a store on the way and she said she had been thinking the same thing. The only store open at that time of night was Walmart. I ran like a madwomen through the aisles, carefully picking out food that would cover every type of craving. I got nosh and real food like tuna packets and crackers, I got drinks, pretzels, chocolate, and everything you could think of.
I then ran to a different aisle. I knew that all this staff member wanted was to get home. This adventure was not what the camper or staff had ever dreamed of or wanted. I decided to buy them a little something to soften the annoyance they may be having. I bought each of them an emoji pillow and matching emoji hard cups. I zoomed to the front, checked out , and we were on our way.
As I was in the car, I reached out to the volunteer who was picking up the passport to make sure everything was okay. The response back was “yes, I dropped off the passport ages ago, but I just heard that the original flight had been delayed, so there’s another camper and three staff members stuck too!”.
“BARUCH HASHEM I bought out Walmart” I thought to myself “at least there is plenty of food for everyone!”
I ran into the airport with tons of bags and a hand of chargers. But I was surprised. It looked like a lot more than three counselors. But hey, I don’t ask questions. I began to pour a drink into one of the emoji cups and walked over to one of the campers in a wheelchair, and slowly poured the drink down this throat.
I watched as all the nonJewish passengers stared at this group of Jews. They had stared when I stormed in with the endless bags of food, and they heard as the Jews asked who I was- showing they had not known me from before. I watched the non Jews the whole time, as they watched us. I saw a guy in a Camp Simcha sweatshirt open his suitcase, unpack it until he got to the bottom. He pulled out a tshirt, pulled off the tag and handed it to another guy in the group who proceeded to change into it.
I went over to him, I knew him from somewhere but couldn’t place it. When I asked him where I knew him from he said “oh, I don’t go to Simcha, one of the guys just lent this to me”. He then pointed at two others in the group and said that non of them were from Simcha, all were travelling on their own back to Canada, but when the flight got cancelled, they watched the Simcha group and were amazed..and somehow ended up hanging around them. I looked at the guy he had given his shirt to and he said “he was wearing a white shirt and I figured it would be more comfortable if he was wearing a tshirt so I gave him mine”.
I watched as all the non Jewish passengers started at this group of Jews…and I knew why they were staring….we are amazing. I saw noodles in foil on the floor and inquired about it. I was told that someone in the nearby community had heard about them, so she had made them noodles for supper.
I watched as all the non Jewish passengers started at this group of Jews…and I knew why they were staring…we are amazing.
A few minutes later, the man who was coordinating everything made an announcement. A volunteer from Bikur Cholim was bringing a handicapped accessible van to the airport and would be driving everyone up to Canada…everyone, even those three strangers….And the nonJews kept staring.
We got outside, took off our sweatshirts to cover the campers heads from the rain and loaded them onto the bus.
I watched as the nonJews started, and I watched as a stranger drove these strangers to Canada. I watched in amazement.
My mind was whirling from all the chessed I had seen in such a short time. My mind was whirling from all the Ahavas Yisrael going on in Newark Airport at 1:30am.
We headed home, on a high from all that we had witnessed. But we went the wrong way and ended up North instead of South. We had to turn around and head back. It was hashgacha pratis that we went the wrong turn because as we headed back the correct way, we saw a car horizontally across three lanes of the highway. The car was smashed from the front and the back. And then we saw a Jew with peiyos and all, next to a non Jewish man. We immediately stopped. “Are you okay???” We asked from our car. The man looked at us with a smile “We are fine bH! We were not involved in the accident. We are on our way from the country back to Lakewood. I’m an EMT and when I saw the car accident I immediately pulled over to see if everyone was okay. I called 9-1-1 and will not leave.”
My mouth dropped open. It was 2:30 am and this Jew had pulled over to help a stranger. He was clearly a Jew. He could have continued driving but instead he pulled over and made a kiddush Hashem.
Needless to say, when I arrived home at 3am, I still couldn’t organize my thoughts. I had no idea how I had the zechus to witness so much chessed, ahavas yisrael, and Kiddush Hashem in one night. All I knew, and all I know, is that I am part of an incredible nation.
I had watched as all the non Jewish Passengers started at the group of Jews and I watched the polices faces heard this Jewish man explain what he had explained to me. I had watched, I had seen, and I had learned. All I know, is that with people like this, there is no way we cannot be zoche to Mashiach.
It is my fervent hope that all of Klal Yisrael and all the Nations of the world ONLY see how incredible and amazing our nation is. It is my sincere hope that we always see the good of our people and always be witness to Kiddush Hashem.
And it is my utmost wish that this year we greet Mashiach , b’mheirah b’yameinu amen.