Precious Medals

Bud Marshall kept a small box in his bedroom where he kept several important & sentimental mementos including the medals he had earned for his service in WWII. These medals were very precious to him, particularly the Purple Heart and the Medal for Bravery at Okinawa. He had been exposed to grave danger there and he valiantly persevered and prevailed. The medals conferred on him by his country, meant a great deal to him.

His eight year old son Mark, used to sneak into his father's room, pry open the box, and play with the medals, even though he wasn't supposed to. After all, Mark was proud of the medals and proud of his father for courageously earning them.

One day Mark showed them to his friend Brian and they played together with the medals. A few days later Mark snuck into the room, opened the box and was horrified to discover that the medals were gone. He was baffled and afraid to tell his father.

The next day in school, he saw Brian was going around to all the kids, showing them the medals and telling them that his own father had earned those medals. Mark was furious and confounded. He went right to his father, told him the whole story, and asked him what to do, "I'm bigger than Brian, I can go beat him up and get back your medals. Should I do that?"
 
Mr. Marshall put his arm around Mark and said, "Brian lost his father when he was two years old. The reason he's doing this is because he wishes he had a father. You're lucky, you have a father. Let him keep the medals." (©2013. Printed with permission from Rabbi Baruch Lederman, author of Shulweek www.kehillastorah.org.)

Righteous Among the Nations

The story, which  spans generations, continents and religions,  starts in Sarajevo at the beginning of WWII. Mustafa and Zaneiba Hardagan were a very tolerant Muslim couple who had a lot of Jewish friends, especially the Kabilio family. When the Germans occupied Sarajevo, the Gestapo's Headquarters were situated across the street from the Hardagan's residence. The Hardagans warn their Jewish friends many times about the upcoming arrests of Jews by the SS. Mustafa begged his friend Yossef Kabilio to come and stay with them telling him "You are our brothers. This is your home."

Yossef accepted, but later had to arrange for the departure of his whole family because the situation of the Jews was becoming worse by the day. Unfortunately, the Gestapo arrested him, while his family was safe. Zeineba made a point of visiting him every day, bringing him food and clothing. But after a month, she decided that she was not doing enough and took upon herself to ask the Gestapo Head for Yossef's release. He was obviously very surprised that a Muslim would risk so much to save the life of a Jew. In the end, after generously bribing the officer, she obtained Yossef"s liberation. Yossef escaped safely to Italy in 1943.

Zeineba is not the only courageous member of her family. Her dad, Ahmed Sahdik, a Muslim originally from Salonica, Greece, hid many Jewish families during the war in his own residence. Unfortunately he was denounced and then sent to a concentration camp, where he died in 1945. Sahdik's name, albeit a Muslim one, is listed today on the Sarajevo memorial dedicated to the deported Jewish victims.

The Kabilios made it back safely to Sarajevo after the war and Zeineba gave them back the jewels they had left with her. They embarked on a ship going to Palestine, where they started a new life, but never forgot their Muslim friends during all these years.

The Kabilios decided to honor Zebeina's courage by having the Yad Vashem museum in Jerusalem include her as one of the "Righteous among the nations" for her role during the Shoah. She was then invited in 1985 to Israel to be recognized as the first Muslim ever to hold that title. She spent two wonderful months there, where she was impressed by the warmth and the welcome of the Israeli authorities.

Obviously she had no idea that a few years later, the irony of history would save her family's life. In fact in 1992, while Yugoslavia was in the midst of a bloody civil war, Zebeina's family was in mortal danger because of the numerous bombings in their neighborhood in Sarajevo.

Yossef Kabilio's children worked endlessly to save their saviors. They obtained directly from Israel Prime Minister Rabin a special authorization to bring the whole Hardagan family to Israel, along with members of the Jewish community of Sarajevo. So, in 1994, they settled in Israel: Zebeina's daughter Aida got a revelation upon entering Jerusalem. She said that she did not feel like a stranger but rather it was like coming back home. She then converted to Judaism and was renamed Sarah. She added that until her death in October 1994, her mother Zebeina was very supportive.

This is what Sarah has to say about Israel:

"I do not know of a single country in the world who would have welcomed us like Israel did. We were Muslims and it is the Jewish state, which embraced us with love and affection. The entire world witnessed what happened in Sarajevo and only Israel came to our rescue. This is the true state of Israel and not what foreign TV networks show you every night. If Israel was a racist state, how come they took care of Muslims like us? Our story is a message for those who really want to live in peace in the Near East." 

(©2013. Printed with permission from Rabbi Baruch Lederman, author Of Shulweek www.kehillastorah.org.)

A Candle of My Own

Once in a very long while, you read or hear a story that fills your body and soul with warmth, that inspires you, overrides time,  that taps into our beautiful and rich heritage. This multi-layered narrative is one of those stories. And it is still evolving. It is like the flame of a candle that is lit from one person to another, from one candle to another, the flame never extinguished.

 

The key players and places in the story are Laura Fisher , Gary (Laura’s husband) Camp Emunah, Yana and Zach Weiser, Mrs. Chava Schmidt, Mrs. Esther Sternberg, a Shabbos morning at the Montreal Torah Center and Rabbi Aaron Eliezer Ceitlin.  The thread that ties all of these people and places together is the Rebbe.

 

Russia to America 1978

 

Between the years of 1978-1981 there was a large influx of Russian Jews to America.  Among those leaving was Laura (then Larisa), her mother, father, brother and grandmother, who immigrated to Edison, New Jersey from Kiev in 1979.  Yana immigrated with her family, also from Kiev, to Philadelphia a few years later in 1981.  Soon after their arrival, Laura and her family moved to Philadelphia where she met Yana.  They have been friends ever since, over thirty years.   Today their families remain very close.

 

The Beginning of Laura’s Story

 

Everyone knew the story of Laura’s life when she first came to Edison, New Jersey at eleven years old.  One day, a rabbi came to Laura’s home and asked her parents if they would like their daughter to go to a Jewish girls summer camp. Her parents were elated.  In Russia, the government had banned any outward Jewish observance and Jewish girls generally did not go to the government’s “Pioneer Camps”.  Now they would be able to give their daughter an opportunity to learn about her rich heritage.

 

Laura does not have very many memories of that summer in camp.  She does remember not knowing the language – not English and not Hebrew. She spoke only Russian.  In order to get through the summer, she drew on her survival instincts, learning how to daven (pray) and how to read Hebrew.  She remembers wearing skirts, but doesn’t know where they came from.  While in camp, Laura turned twelve and was given a siddur with a picture of the Rebbe taped on the inside cover. 

 

When she came home, she prayed three times a day and recited all the morning blessings.  Although her parents had wanted her to get some semblance of who she was as a Jewish girl, this was more than they had bargained for. They could not believe what had become of their daughter! To help them get through these trying times, Laura’s mother assured everyone that if they ignored it the phase would pass, which it did.

 

Thirty Years later…

 

Some of the families who had emigrated from Russia slowly began to make their way back to Yiddishkeit. Among those families were Laura’s (now married with two children) and Yana’s (also married with two children).  Both Laura and Yana still lived in Philadelphia.

 

In 2011, Yana and her family were spending a Shabbos at the home of their shluchim, Rabbi Menachem and Chava Schmidt. During the long Shabbos afternoon Yana’s daughter Shana was looking through the rabbi’s extensive library. She happened upon a small booklet entitled A Candle of My Own. As she was flipping through the pages, she came upon a short essay written by Laura Brovender, aged twelve. The name rang a bell and she asked her mother if Brovender was her friend Laura’s maiden name. Yana said, in fact, it was.

 

The booklet is a compilation of short essays written by young girls who attended Camp Emunah decades ago about what it meant to them to light Shabbos candles.  Laura - in Russian - wrote one of those essays while she was in Camp Emunah.  In that short piece, she vividly described what lighting Shabbos candles meant to her.

 

A Brief Bit of History

 

In 1974, the Rebbe instituted ten mitzvah campaigns.  One of them was called Neshek – to enable every Jewish girl to light a Shabbos candle. Mrs. Esther Sternberg, who lived (and still does) in Crown Heights at the time, heard about the Rebbe’s request. She thought it a wonderful idea and did whatever she could to bring his message to the world. It did not take very long for the Rebbe to find out what she was doing and very shortly he directed all messages and requests regarding this campaign to Mrs. Sternberg.

 

A few months later, the Rebbe requested that compositions and poems, to be written by girls of all ages and backgrounds, be compiled and made into a hard-cover book. The girls were to write about how they felt while lighting a ‘candle of my own.’ And to make certain that girls from different backgrounds be included, the Rebbe told Mrs. Sternberg to run a contest in many parts of the city.

 

Two years after the first book was printed, Mrs. Sternberg wrote to the Rebbe, saying that she would like to do a second contest of compositions and poems. The Rebbe concurred, the contest took place and prizes were duly awarded. Toward the end of the month of Menachem Av, the Rebbe contacted Mrs. Sternberg and asked her how the second book was coming along. He wanted it printed by Rosh Hashana. Second book? Mrs. Sternberg never thought of printing a second book. Second contest yes, but second book?

 

 

Nonetheless, a directive from the Rebbe meant action. Frantic that she did not have enough essays for this book, Mrs. Sternberg contacted Camp Emunah, requesting of them to run the same contest she had run, further (maybe instead of ,further: and specifically) asking them for essays from foreign campers.  She received essays in Russian, Persian and Hebrew.

 

One of the girls who wrote a story that summer was Laura…

 

Back to the Story

 

Being a Baal Teshuva, returning to one’s roots, is a life-long journey. Some of those times are harder than others. Good friends sense each other’s struggles and such was the case with Yana and Laura. When Yana realized what her daughter had discovered, she knew that this was no mere coincidence. Hashem had made her His emissary to reach out to her friend Laura.

 

Yana and her husband Zach are people of action. They decided they wanted to present this unbelievable piece of Laura’s life to her in a very special way.

 

First they made copies of the piece, which was written in Russian and translated into English. They also wanted to give the entire book to Laura, but it was out of print. Chava Schmidt told them to contact Mrs. Sternberg.  If anyone had a copy it would be her.  

 

Yana called Mrs. Sternberg who still lives in Crown Heights (this is already mentioned parenthetically above). She explained the story and why she wanted a copy of the booklet, printed over thirty years ago.  Mrs. Sternberg replied that she would have to search for a book, which she did and finally mailed Yana the book.

 

The Gift – A Belated Birthday Present.

 

Gary (Laura’s husband) knew that Laura still had the siddur she had received in Camp Emunah. Opposite the picture of the Rebbe, one of her counselors had written the following words in Russian: “ ….let this siddur with a portrait of this real Jew be your true guide in your life…” The way it was written was very unusual, as pointed out by both Yana and Gary. The ink started out strong and then the ink began to fade, as the pen began to run out of ink, the words became lighter and lighter. The counselor then must have picked up another pen and the words became strong and dark again.  (I think there are some inaccuracies here. I am going to forward this to Laura as well. I think the above quote is Yana’s memory of it and I think that the quote written with the two pens is actually on the facing page – Laura, please make this accurate)

 

Gary pointed out that the way the writing appears in the suddur reflects Lauara’s connection to Judaism. The brightness of the flame that was ignited in the camp Emunah may have diminishes for a few years, but has returned burning brighter and stronger than ever. When she came back from Camp Emunah she felt strong in her commitment to being Jewish, later, as predicted by her mother, (her commitment) (she) waned, (yet) (and) over the past few years she is becoming strong again.  A framed copy of Laura’s letter as well as the booklet were presented to Laura on Rosh Chodesh Elul 2011. She was overcome with emotion. After (explaining) learning where the both the letter and the booklet came from, Laura asked to meet Mrs. Sternberg.  She went to New York with Yana, her daughter Simone and Yana’s daughters, Shana and Dina. They sat talking in Mrs. Sternberg’s dining room for four hours. Mrs. Sternberg gave Laura and her daughter Simone and Yana and her two daughters Shana and Dina, dollars that she had received from the Rebbe. This gift feels to them as if it came directly from the Rebbe and has further strengthened their connection to him. Later that year (They) invited Mrs. Sternberg to come and speak for the women in their shul, which she did, again holding everyone’s attention for hours with stories of other wonderful experiences of her own and others all affected by the Rebbe’s Neshek (candle lighting) initiative.

 

The Most Incredible ‘Coincidence’

 

Rosh Chodesh Elul 2012, one year later, they went back to meet with Mrs. Sternberg.  They had decided to make it a yearly visit which they realized would further develop and strengthen their connection to the Rebbe.

 

The following Shabbos, Yana and her family were visiting Montreal where they found themselves in the Montreal Torah Center (MTC) Shabbos morning. Their connection to the MTC was through Bracha and Dovid Bettoun, who had moved to Philadelphia from Montreal many years earlier and are neighbors and dear friends of the Weisers.  The Bettouns urged Yana to go with her family to the Montreal Torah Center for Shabbos, which they did.

 

That Shabbos, there was a guest rabbi and very dear friend of the MTC, Rabbi Aaron Eliezer Ceitlin.  He lives in Tsfat and had been in Montreal for a week.  Rabbi New had requested of him to deliver the sermon that Shabbos morning.

 

Rabbi Ceitlin slowly walked to the bimah and ascended up to the shtender (dais).  He began by saying that he was not supposed to have been here this Shabbos but that his plans had changed.  He should have been back in Israel, but Hashem had other plans for him and here he was, still in Montreal.  Then, he began to tell a story which he heard when he was in Antwerp a few weeks earlier. It was told to him over dinner by Mrs. Sternberg’s nephew ???

 

“There was a young girl named Laura, who thirty years ago had gone to Camp Emunah…”. Rabbi Ceitlin was telling Yana’s story about her friend Laura.

 

One cannot imagine the look on Yana and Zach’s faces when they realized that Rabbi Ceitlin was telling their story! They were incredulous!  After Rabbi Ceitlin finished speaking, Zach jumped up from his seat, ran over to Rabbi New and told him, “That’s my wife’s story!”  Both Rabbi New and Rabbi Ceitlin insisted that Zach go up to the bimah and briefly give over the story himself.

 

This story, which had begun thirty years earlier, had gone around the world and back, full circle and has brought together so many people in an ever growing circle of light – the light of the Shabbos candle reigniting the spark of Yiddishkeit in so many lives.

 

And the Rebbe’s reach? Clearly it also continues to grow, to inspire and to envelope Jews in every corner of the world.

Transcribed by Joannie Tansky as told by Yana Weiser 

Beloved Son

A resident of Jerusalem was traveling from the United States to Israel. Seated next to him on the plane was an older Jewish man, a holocaust survivor. The Jerusalemite engaged him in friendly conversation and invited him to join him in his synagogue for the upcoming High Holidays. The man rebuffed, "I can not go to synagogue after what G-d did to me. He took my only son away from me. We were captured by the Nazis and split up to different camps. My beloved son was sent to one of the worst death camps. No one survived. My beloved son, so young, so full of promise...  ...I stopped speaking to G-d, I can never go to synagogue."
        In a very loving manner he said to the man, "You could just come for Yom Kippur so that you can say Yizkor for your son, to honor his memory." The man sort of grumbled and the fellow figured he would never see him again.
        Yom Kippur came and the hopeful host was pleasantly surprised to see that the man did indeed show up for Yizkor. The practice in that small synagogue as for the Cantor to go around to each person asking them for the Hebrew name and the relationship of each person whom they wanted to say Yizkor for. The Cantor reached this man, who sat himself sheepishly in the back, last. He asked him for the requisite information. The man was very emotional as this was the first time in all the years that he could bring himself to come to synagogue and say Yizkor. The man said with mist in his eyes and a lump in his throat, "I am saying Yizkor for my son Jacob Goldberg, his Hebrew name is Yaakov Yosef ben Moshe Aharon HaLevi."
        For no apparent reason, the Cantor swallowed hard and froze in his tracks, turning white as if he just saw a ghost. The Cantor stared intently at the man and finally managed to squeal in a shocked cracked voice, "Father?"....

El Al Goes The Extra Miles to Bring Cancer-Stricken Girl to Camp Simcha

The following story was reported by Rabbi Yaakov Pinsky, director of Chaiyanu/Chai Lifeline Israel. I have just witnessed one of the most incredible stories regarding El Al that I have ever come across in my life. Today we sent 30 Israeli children with cancer to Camp Simcha in the United States for a life-affirming break from their illnesses. For the past 20 years, El Al has been our partner in the process, helping us to make sure our children are safe, secure, and happy during their journey. After everyone was checked in, the Chaiyanu medical staff gave our children a final pre-flight examination and our group was seated on the flight. Once everyone was comfortable, our senior staff member collected the passports to have them prepared for entry into the United States. The passports were counted, and to everyone’s shock, one was missing. No one could find Inbar’s passport. Our staff looked high and low, in and under every seat and seat pocket. No passport was found. The flight attendants immediately called the ground crew to help them locate the lost passport. The airport was alerted, and they too searched everywhere from the boarding gate to the El Al aircraft. Time was passing fast and the flight needed to depart. Still no passport was found. The ground crew entered the plane and searched frantically for Inbar’s passport. After 25 minutes of pulling apart the aircraft, the crew admitted defeat. El Al had no choice but to tell Inbar that she could not fly. El Al sadly called her mother to tell her that Inbar’s passport was lost and that the girl, who had been fighting illness so valiantly, would not be able to fly to Camp Simcha. What a horrible experience for an 11 year old girl to have to go through. As the reality dawned on everyone, passengers, crew, our group, and Inbar herself, the mood on the plane went from dismay at the inconvenience to sadness and shock that Inbar was losing her chance for a vacation from illness. It was terrible to experience. It wasn’t enough that she has cancer, but now Inbar was facing another horrible disappointment in her life. The flight attendants were crying as they escorted Inbar off the plane. The doors shut, and the plane left the gate. The plane was almost on the runway when some shouted she found Inbar’s passport in another child’s knapsack. The news was heard on the entire airplane, and of course the crew immediately radioed that the missing passport was on the plane. But once a plane departs from the gate, it does not return to the gate to pick up a passenger. So began frantic phone calls between the El Al staff and airline crew on the plane, the El Al offices on the ground, and the Ben Gurion Airport authorities. It seems so hopeless. It really looked like Inbar was in for another disappointment. But after 15 minutes of phone calls, and a subsequent delay of more than a half hour, El Al did the unthinkable and unprecedented: the plane returned to the gate to pick up this 11-year-old girl with cancer and take her to Camp Simcha. Inbar couldn’t believe it. Her dream came true! Those of us on the plane experienced something as well. Instead of the hostility that usually greets a plane delay, there were cheers and tears on that El Al plane, flight 007. Passengers and crew shared Inbar’s happiness and excitement. Today was one of the greatest moments I have ever experienced! There are no words that can describe the heartfelt gratitude and appreciation we have to El Al and the Ben Gurion Airport authorities. They have performed a miracle for some very special people today. It was an event for the history books, and everyone on that plane will be forever touched by El Al’s determination to accompany Inbar to the US.  The Yeshiva World (Thursday, August 8th, 2013)

Jewish Views on Miracles

To what extent should Jews believe that miracles occurred in the past and continue to occur today?

In the Bible, the Talmud, and all other ancient and medieval Jewish writings it is taken for granted that miracles can and do occur, although a miracle was not thought of as a suspension of natural law since, before the rise of modern science, there was no such concept as a natural law that required to be suspended. 

The Natural Order of the World

A miracle was an extraordinary event which, precisely because it was so different from the normal course of events, provided evidence of God's direct intervention; hence the biblical term nes, 'sign,' for a miracle.

The miracle is an indication of divine intervention in particular circumstances. The whole question of miracles involves the doctrine of divine providence, how the transcendent God can be said to become manifest in the particular events of the world, although this way of looking at the problem did not emerge in Jewish thought until the age of the medieval philosophers.

The Mishnah (Berakhot 9:3) defines as a 'vain prayer' a cry to God to undo the past. Two illustrations are given. One is where a man's wife is pregnant and he prays that the child she is carrying should be a boy. The other is where a man hears from afar the sound of lamentation and prays that the sound should not be one that proceeds from his own house.

In both these instances the prayer is futile since the event has already taken place. In the first instance, however, God can perform a miracle and changethe sex of the fetus from female to male but that, as the Gemara states in its comment to the Mishnah, is to pray for a miracle to be performed and no man has the right to assume that he is worthy for God to perform a miracle on his behalf.

Throughout the Rabbinic literature, the possibility of miracles occurring is accepted unreservedly while, at the same time, what is now called the natural order is seen as the usual manifestation of divine providence and the identification of a particular event as a miracle is viewed with caution.

Are Miracles Desirable?

The medieval philosophers, too, acknowledge that miracles do occur but there is a tendency to explain even the biblical miracles in natural terms. Despite the tensions in this matter, the power of holy men to work miracles is recognized in the Bible, the Talmud, and Midrash, and in subsequent Jewish hagiography down to the Hasidic tales of the miracles performed by the Hasidic Zaddik.

Some modern Jewish theologians have incorrectly read a Talmudic debate (Shabbat 53b) as implying that there is a degree of spiritual vulgarity in hankering after miracles. The passage tells of a poor man whose wife had died, leaving him with a little babe. A miracle happened in that his breasts became as a woman's that he might suckle the infant.

One Rabbi remarked: 'How great this man must have been that such a miracle was performed for him,' but his colleague retorted: 'On the contrary! How unworthy this man must have been that the order of creation was changed on his behalf.'

However, the second Rabbi is not denigrating holy men on whose behalf miracles happen, only this particular man and this particular kind of miracle involving a reversal of the roles and nature of male and female.

Evidence & Belief

The real question for moderns is not can miracles happen, but did they and do they happen. As Hume recognized, the question is one of evidence. Many events that were seen in the past as miracles can now be understood as due to the operation of natural laws, even though Hume himself is less than categorical about the absolute necessity of cause A always to produce the effect B it usually seems to produce.

Undoubtedly, a modern Jewish believer will be far less prone to attribute extraordinary events to a supernatural intervention, but his belief in God's power will not allow him to deny the very possibility of miracles occurring.

A Hasidic saying has it that a Hasid who believes that all the miracles said to have been performed by the Hasidic masters actually happened is a fool, but anyone who believes that they could not have happened is an unbeliever. The same can be said of miracles in general.

Reprinted from The Jewish Religion: A Companion, published by Oxford University Press.

The Fire

Michael was in a rush to leave with his two sons to be at synagogue on time. He reminded his

wife, Connie, not to forget to lock the door behind her on her way out. As the sun set on the

eve of Yom Kippur, Connie and her guests lit the Yom Tov candles on the buffet table by the

dining room window, as she always did. She stayed in the house for a few minutes but then

left in a rush with her two friends in order to make it to synagogue in time to hear the Kol Nidrei

prayers. Shortly after arriving in synagogue, she remembered that she hadn’t locked the door.

Thank G-d, they were living in a safe area; she had forgotten to lock the door before, so she

was not concerned.

Halfway into the evening service, a member of the synagogue, who had been sitting near the door, approached Michael and asked if he could step into the lobby for a moment. Since Michael was a neurosurgeon, he figured there was probably a medical issue that needed attention. He didn’t ask any questions and went right out. In the lobby he found a man with a teenage boy who identified themselves as his neighbors. They told Michael that a small fire had started in his house, but it was put out and the firemen were still there clearing the smoke out. The neighbors had driven to the synagogue and were willing to give Michael a ride home right away. Michael did not drive on Shabbat or holidays and after confirming that the fire had been extinguished, Michael realized that there was nothing else for him to do by rushing home. He thanked the neighbors for their report and kindly refused their offer of a ride home, explaining that he’d be home shortly. Michael returned to the sanctuary and rapidly completed the rest of the night’s prayers. As soon as he was through, he ran home to see what the situation was at his house, not knowing what to expect.

As he arrived home, he encountered two firemen leaving his house.

“You’re one lucky fellow,” one of them said. “A couple saw the fire and was able to get into the house to put it out.  If this fire had continued for another minute or two, the whole house would have been in flames and you would have lost your home. We would never have been able to get here in time.” Thanking them for their

help, Michael entered the house to see the extent of the damage done.

The first place he checked was where Connie had lit the candles. Most of the items that had been on the buffet table had been moved to the front yard, revealing the ashes and damage done to the top surface of the buffet table and the small tablecloth that had been covering it. He lifted his eyes, following the direction that the flames must have traveled, and saw that one of the windows had cracked and the frame had been burnt. However, except for some splashes of wax, there was no other damage to the windows. He let his eyes drift further up and saw that the curtains framing the windows had been singed around the bottom edge. Michael understood more fully why the fireman had commented about the timing of the fire. Had the curtains caught fire, the house would have been lost. Grateful that nothing worse had happened, Michael went out the front door and sat on the steps to get some fresh air and to wait for the rest of his family to return from synagogue.

After sitting for a few minutes, he looked up and saw a couple approaching him. They wanted to speak to him, figuring that he was the owner of the house. “We’re the ones who put the fire out.” Michael’s house was on the corner of his development. The couple was on their way to their friend's house and decided to take a different route that they'd never tried before. They had been driving down Veale road, the road perpendicular to Michael’s development, when they saw some flames in the window as they passed. The woman turned to her husband and said that the flames didn’t look normal or controlled. They decided to turn around and check out the situation. Pulling in front of the house, they realized that a small fire had, in fact, begun right in the front window of the home. They called 911 and ran to the door to try and help. They began knocking and ringing the doorbell. Nobody answered. Everyone was at synagogue! Desperate to do something, the man tried the doorknob and was relieved to find that the door had been left unlocked. He quickly ran to the kitchen and found a pot and managed to put out the fire with some water.  The smoke was already pretty thick in the house so they went outside to wait for the firemen to arrive. To their surprise, the fire trucks didn’t show up until five minutes after the couple had extinguished the fire.

Michael realized that if this couple hadn’t taken the initiative to put the fire out themselves, the whole house would have been destroyed before the firemen got there! Feeling grateful and indebted to this couple, he asked them for their names so that he could look them up after Yom Kippur and somehow repay them for their deed.

“My name is K___ and this is my husband T_______,” she responded. “What’s your name?”

“Michael Sugarman,” he replied.

“Sugarman? Do you have any relation to the doctor? Dr. Sugarman?” She asked

inquisitively.

“Actually… I am Dr. Sugarman.”

K___ was in shock. “You’re Dr. Sugarman?! You had my mother as your patient about 12 years ago. Do you remember her?”

Michael recognized the name but didn’t remember any of her circumstances so he asked K___ to refresh his memory. She described that her mother had been very ill and had emergency surgery for a brain tumor. Following her surgery she remained critically ill and was on life support. The family was not sure what to do. K___’s brother had already given up and wanted to just let their mother go, but K___ wasn’t ready to give up yet. They had come to Michael for advice and he told them to wait for a period of time to see if she would take a turn for the better. They waited for that time period and she did begin to get better. She went on to recover fully and lived another 12 years. She had all her faculties about her until this past June, when she died of natural causes.