Veteran Egged bus driver Danny Eliash last Friday thought he was about to embark on another regular day. After completing his route, he began inspecting his number 350 bus for suspicious packages [in accordance with standard operating procedure] and he found a black back which at first glance he believed contained pitot (pita breads). When he opened the bag to see, he was astounded to find lots of bills, green bills, totaling US $40,000.
Danny immediately informed his supervisor, Yigal Partush, then passing the information to the liaison for the chareidi community in Ashdod, Rav Moshe Radziminsky.
About an hour later, a panicked community member telephoned the rav, explaining in a distressed voice that he is trying to track down a black bag which he lost, containing a large sum of money, adding he lost it on a bus from Bnei Brak to Ashdod.
After connecting the sides, and the concerned resident providing the necessary answers to questions of identity and distinct characteristics of the bag, the money was returned to him.
Egged Southern District manager Avi Friedman this week summoned Danny to present him with a certificate of appreciation for his honest and professional actions.
(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)
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26 Responses
WOW! MI KAMCHA YISROEL
does he get a reward? a reward is standerd in the US
wow!!!! what a kidush hashem
and kol hakavod to the bus driver
“Mi Keamcha Yisroel”
Let us observe a Tale of Two Yiden –
1) A Chareidi shomer torah u’mitzvos, probably with a beard & payos + chassidish or yeshivish levush, carrying a mysterious bag with a lot of cash, which he irresponsibly forgets on a bus (a very strong indication that the $$$ came very easily, quite likely in illegal ways).
2) an Egged bus driver, probably not religious, a man who works hard to earn a living. When he finds this bag of cash he DOES NOT SUCCUMB to the temptation of easy money, but takes all the proper steps to be mekayem mitzvas hashovas aveidah, when he could easily have pocketed $40,000 and have gotten away with it. BTW – I almost overlooked the fact that he did not shirk his responsibility to check his vehicle for “unattended objects”, thereby doing his hishtadlus to ensure the safety of his Jewish bretheren.
Which one of these would want a) as your chaver, b) to sit next to in shul, c) as your neighbor, d) to be m’shadech with?
I am having a very hard time answering these questions.
Some help with suggestions please?
I hope mas haknassa doesn’t read this.
…and what was this guy up to that prompted him to be carrying around $40,000 in cash?
Absolutely beautiful. People like this are bringing Mashiach even closer.
To Lavdavka- If he takes a reward – even a grush,
he might lose his real schar for doing the mitzva.
Now is that what you wanted for the busdriver?
Your reply to that question might be: “Lavdavka,I
wish him schar mitzva and a reward bhai alma.” But lavdavka does it work that way-in fact I can
show you from incidents in the Gmara that what ever one gets bhai alma reduces your account up-
stairs.
Be well, Lavdavka.
thank you, torah notes
Let’s try a different story of two Yidden, focusing mainly on the first Yid:
A while back, a Chareidi shomer torah u’mitzvos, probably with a beard & payos + chassidish or yeshivish levush, was one of the victims of a terrorist attack, in which he was B”H very slightly injured, but in which both parents of 7 children were R”L murdered. He was so (obviously) shook up, first by the tragic death of the couple, then by the fact that 7 yesomim were created, and lastly by the G-dly intervention in saving his life. He immediately decided to raise as much money as he legally could, for the yesomim. So he bought a ticket to America from his own money, and collected a few thousand dollars. Back in Israel, he went from north to south, east to west, and collected another few thousand shekels/dollars. He convinced a friend of his who was in America to collect for him, and he returned with another few thousand dollars. After a frantic few weeks/months, he was exhausted, but had succeeded in collecting $40,000 for the yesomim. He got on the bus to deliver the money personally to the yesomim. In his exhaustion he fell asleep on the bus, only to wake up with a start just as the bus was about to close the doors at his destination station. He jumped up and ran out of the bus. After a few seconds to collect his toughts, and after the bus drove away, he realized that as he ran off the bus, the black bag with all the money for the yesomim dropped onto one of the other seats of the bus.
B”H Yid #2 (bus driver) did the right thing, and eventually the yesomim’s money was returned to the devoted baal chessed, who immediately gave it to the yesomim.
What a nice story….
And regarding DaasTorahWtchdg’s questions:
“Which one of these would want a) as your chaver b) to sit next to in shul, c) as your neighbor, d) to be m’shadech with?”
My answer would be a resounding: BOTH YIDDEN!!!
DaasTorahWtchdg, Here is a suggestion:
Work on your midah of being dan lekaf zechus! Stop jumping to conclusions!
You made this guy chareidi, shomer torah u’mitzvos, gave him a beard and payos, chassidishe/yeshivish levush, and decided he obtained the money through illegal ways, without the article stating one of those things!
I wouldn’t want to have a chaver, sit next to, be a neighbor, or be meshadech with someone like you! Sheesh!
Why did the egged busdriver contact the charedei community? Was that his route? or the assumption is charedeim have lots of green bucks on them?
Daas Torah Watch Dog (#5) makes an assumption about the person who lost the money which is NOT dan l’kaf zechus, when there is no real challenge to creatively develop a kosher scenario. It impugns the integrity of the ENTIRE chareidi olam.
One can debate who one should prefer to do shiduchim with, sit next to in shul, etc. Which is more important, Bein adam lachaveiro or bein adam laMakom. But our watch dog, by distancing himself from the chareidi olam, has shown that he is not on the bein adam laMakom side, and by casting such nasty insinuations on the whole chareidi public, has demonstrated that his bein adam lachaveiro, leaves what to be desired as well. Who, now, would want to do a shidduch with him?
To No.5,
youre correct re: your positive comments re: the bus driver, but why the negative remarks about the passenger?
I hope youre not assuming his carelessness because of his lifestyle! Lets be dan lkaf zchus, recognise and praise the driver despite his outward appearance, acknowledge that the passenger is prob. also a good yid going about his business, and leave it at that.
Anyway, a Yid’s yeshivish manner/dress only add to his zchuyos, not the opposite chas vsholom.
May the Aibishter find favour for Klal Yisrael in the merit of such acts of achdus.
The story is beautiful indeed. However, I’m troubled by some of these comments.
How does one possibly jump to the conclusion that the $40,000 was gotten illegally or easily?
Has the average Charedei lost his chezkas kashrus in the eyes of some readers?
Oy.
A test that comes maybe once in a life time, and he passed it big time!
maybe the guy works for a gemach or maybe he is a money changer or maybe he collects tzdaka for a yeshiva or maybe works so hard for his money that he just fell asleep from exhaustion and hashgacha had it to give the bus driver an opportunity to do a great mitzva.btw in isreal the banks charge money for deposits and more money for cash and more money for any other reason that you can and cant think of.therefore its common for ppl in isreal to have cash.
To “DaasTorahWtchdg”
Hevey Dan Es Kol Haadam L’Kaf Zchus?
I’ve had a guest from overseas that came for a dinner and carried around a pamper in a bag! You guessed it. He had thousands of $ cash that he was going to donate for the new building!
You never know! and most of the $ is hard earned in an honest fashion!
Just a side fact worth remembering:
When you point a finger at someone else- There’s always four fingers pointing to you!!!!
#5 DaasTorahWtchdg, a yid, especially a religious Jew, has a chezkas yiras shamayim. There’s no reason for you to write so negatively about an ehrliche yid. You should read the beautiful post #11 from Chaim Aharon and learn how to be daan lechaf zchus your Jewish brothers.
Kol Hakavod Chaim Aharon!
what a kiddush hashem!!! wow!
ChaimAharon, GREAT POST! You have what I would call real Ahavas yisroel!
#5 DaasTorahWtchdg, I am so curious to know what you look like….and how you dress.
Since Daas Torah Watchdog asked for suggestions…
The answer is that there is only one judge and it’s not any of us. Who knows why anyone charaidi or not (your guess, since the article doesn’t mention) would be carrying around a large sum of cash. I myself worked for an institution for many years that required me to cash large tzedaka checks and transport the cash from one place to another. There could be a million reasons. That is why we are commanded to give people the benefit of the doubt. I would be happy to befriend someone like the Egged driver who clearly, whether religious or not, (because the article does not mention) seems to be a person of truth. Just because he seems to be a pious person does not make the man who lost the money a crook or a thief. As to why he lost the money, again, there could be a million answers. Not only do we all make even catastrophic mistakes at times, we never know why Hashem gives us the tests He does. We should all only know B’soros Tovos.
Haveh don ess kol adam lchaf zechus!
I think I have the answer.
since daas torah’s proffession is being a “watchdog” it really irritates him that the “chassidishe” man didn’t watch over his money,…thus causing his imagination to overwork.
or perhaps he doesn’t fargin – his proffession doesn’t bring him as much income as the “crook’s”.
The comments here were most entertaining.For example:
the person on the bus just won the lottery and was taking it straight to some soap kitchen to donate all his winnings.
Comment by NeveAliza — WHY?
To launder the money?
Let us observe a Tale of Two Yiden –
and what was this guy up to that prompted him to be carrying around $40,000 in cash?
Comment by YaakovKam
Contrast the very next comment!
Absolutely beautiful. People like this are bringing Mashiach even closer
) A Chareidi shomer torah u’mitzvos, probably with a beard & payos + chassidish or yeshivish levush,(a very strong indication that the $$$ came very easily, quite likely in illegal ways).-
If someone does this in illegal ways,it rules him out as shomer Torah umitzvohs-a “s’teera!”
Why ruin a good story with “what-if”s? Perhaps if the money had been obtained illegally,Hashem would not have made this “coincidence” (a NESS) happen.
This also could have been done by HKB”H to test the driver and give him a big z’chus,a once-in-a-lifetime chance.