Bostonian in a Faraway Land

My father-in-law, the Rebbe, instituted “Merkos Shlichus,” whereby Yeshiva students volunteer each summer to visit remote Jewish communities in order to raise awareness of Torah, Mitzvos and Judaism.

The story was reported by a Jew living in a small American town, that he looked outside his window and saw one of our Yeshiva students walking with a beard, and Tzitzis showing. He inquired: “Where is that young man from? Poland, Galicia, Ukraine?” “No,” he was told, “he’s a Bostonian.” Thought the man: “A Bostonian! With a full beard, earlocks and Tzitzis! And what is he discussing in his perfect English? Torah’s deepest mystical concepts!” – Just seeing the student was enough to stir thoughts of repentance within him.

The highest form of charity is when neither giver nor receiver know each other’s identity. So this was an act of spiritual charity at its best – the student had no idea whom he had influenced, and the man had no idea who had influenced him. And there’s no telling just how great the outcome will be, and how it will manifest in the man’s children and grandchildren…