We are continuing with stories from the book, At Any Hour about Rabbi Gissinger.
In chapter two, entitled He Cared Deeply, there is a story of a man who went to a restaurant in the Lakewood of old, called “Falafel and Chips” on the corner of Fifth Street and Clifton Avenue.
He he didn't really know Rabbi Gissinger well, since he had just moved to the neighborhood, but he saw him standing at the counter of the restaurant, asking all kinds of questions about what was good, what will people like etc… The man behind the counter said, “A sub sandwich.” So the Rabbi started asking about toppings. “What about fried onions? And what else should I add? Tomatoes and pickles… mustard and barbecue sauce. Back and forth it went until they made the most unbelievable sandwich.
The man standing there said he actually felt a little embarrassed for the Rabbi. A rabbi is supposed to be a little bit more dignified… why was he getting so involved with this super sub sandwich?
He didn't say anything, but he was a little troubled by the incident. When the rabbi’s order was packaged and paid for, this man ordered a simple turkey sandwich and left. He saw the Rabbi's car pulling out and was right behind him. He lived near the Rabbi, and assumed that he'd be pulling into his house. But Rabbi Gissinger didn’t stop at his house. He continued and made a right turn on another street. The man was curious. Where was the Rabbi going?
On a whim, he decided to follow the Rabbi..who pulled up to a neglected looking house, jumped out of the car, ran to the house, put the bag on the door handle and ran out.
The man suddenly realized what had happened, and was ashamed for suspecting the Rabbi of making the sandwich for himself.
He was actually buying the sandwich for someone else, obviously a poor individual that needed a little bit of hizuk. So the Rabbi bought him a nice sandwich, and left it on the door handle.
This was an example of the sensitivity of this great rabbi.
The man continued with the story and said that when he met the Rabbi he told him what he witnessed- the whole story, that he had caught him red handed in his hidden hesed. He then asked the Rabbi, “When you saw me in the store, why didn’t you just tell me, ‘Hi, Meyer. So good to see you. I'm here picking up a sandwich for someone else?’”
The Rabbi answered in a way that this man said rings in his ears until today.
“And how would that make
you feel?”
In other words, how would he have felt if the Rabbi excused himself from being in the store, implicitly indicating that he didn’t have a good excuse for being there?
That was the sensitivity, never to make a person feel out of place, and always to make someone happy when he was able to.
That is our story for today. Great lessons from a great man.
Have a wonderful day.