Rebono Shel Olam, I almost sold a Yid for a quarter

Several years ago, a rabbi from out-of-state accepted a call to a community in Houston , Texas . Some weeks after he arrived, he had an occasion to ride the bus from his home to the downtown area. When he sat down, he discovered that the driver had accidentally given him a quarter too much change.

As he considered what to do, he thought to himself, 'You'd better give the quarter back. It would be wrong to keep it'.

Then he thought, 'Oh, forget it, it's only a quarter. Who would worry about this little amount? Anyway, the bus company gets too much fare; they will never miss it. Accept it as a 'gift from God' and keep quiet'.

When his stop came, he paused momentarily at the door, and then he handed the quarter to the driver and said, 'Here, you gave me too much change'.

The driver, with a smile, replied, 'Aren't you the new rabbi in town?' 'Yes' he replied.
'Well, I have been thinking a lot lately about going somewhere to worship. I just wanted to see what you would do if I gave you too much change. I'll see you in Shul on Shabbos'.
When the rabbi stepped off of the bus, he literally grabbed the nearest light pole, held on, and said, 'Oh Rebono Shel Olam, I almost sold a Yid for a quarter.'


Our lives are the only thing some people will ever read. This is a really scary example of how much people watch us as JEW, and will put us to the test! Always be on guard -- and remember -- You carry the name of HaShem on your shoulders when you call yourself a 'JEW'.

In 1912, the RMS Titanic sank ..........

In 1912, the RMS Titanic sank after crashing into an iceberg in the North Atlantic. The Titanic was the largest passenger and most luxurious steamship in the world at the time, accommodating over 2,000 passengers. Promoters bragged that it was "the ship that even God couldn't sink." The sinking resulted in the deaths of more than 1,500 people, ranking it as one of the worst peacetime maritime disasters in history, and by far the most famous. Here is a unique Jewish angle: As the ship began to sink, and passengers struggled for one of the few spots in a lifeboat, Leah Aks carried her baby Frank to the deck, trying to get on line to be rescued. In the pandemonium, one man's nerves snapped and he grabbed Leah's baby and threw him overboard. Leah was hysterical at having lost her precious baby, but she managed to get herself into a lifeboat and was saved. Two days later, she saw a woman holding a child -- her baby Frank! An argument ensued and the other woman refused to give up the baby, claiming it as her own. Leah said, "I can prove this is my child -- he is circumcised." (In Europe at that time, only Jewish children were circumcised.) The baby was duly reunited with his mother.


Rabbi Shraga Simmons AISH Today in Jewish History