Rav Kresh Shows How to Make a Great Kiddush Hashem

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shoprite1By Kollel Guy

This story illustrates the sheer power of just being a decent person. I wanted to share it because of the powerful lessons that can be learned from it.

Rav Dovid Kresh, the menahel and 9th grade rebbi at Yeshivas Novominsk, was in Shop Rite in Liberty, NY, last Sunday evening. As he prepared to exit the parking lot, his car scraped into another parked car and made a sizeable dent in it. His thoughts could have been to just drive away. After all, who would know the difference? Nevertheless, he decided to wait until the owner of the car arrived.

He waited for a half an hour until the owner finally appeared. He was an elderly man, an old Jewish resident of the Catskills who called himself Robert. He has been living in the Catskills for years and was not religious.

Rav Kresh apologized and gave him whatever money he had on him, which amounted to $500. He told Robert that whatever extra it costs he would give him the next day, as he did not have the cash at that moment. Robert agreed, and drove off in his newly dented car.

The next day in the Novominsker camp, Robert pulls up and asks for Rav Kresh. He had come to collect whatever extra the repairs costed, but now was sporting a large yarmulka on his head. “Rabbi Kresh,” he announced. “I am not Robert. My name is Reuvain. Today, after seeing your honesty and integrity, I am proud to be a Jew.”

Can anyone put a price tag on this? Surely, the reward for this Kiddush Hashem is worth far greater than the repair expense for “Reuvain’s” car.

I dare to ask, “Would you do this?”

{KollelGuy/Matzav.com Newscenter}


15 COMMENTS

  1. Mi K’Amcha Yisroel!!!

    Ribono Shel Olam….Look at these actions, and not at our iniquities, and bring Mashiach!!

    THIS is who we as Klal Yisroel truly are!

  2. Rabbi Kresh from Camp Toras Chaim that is a lesson for us all to learn during the month of ELUL.. Thank you and to your wonderful wife.

  3. as a talmid of Rabbi Kresch I could easily believe it, and I would not believe that he would drive away without paying for the damage. MITZVEH GORERES MITZVAH. may he be zoche to be momshich his AVODOS HAKODESH for many many years!!!

  4. WOW!! it seems as if – now that Rabbi Kresch made this HUGE kidush hashem – all our problems are solved, how about if I want to make a big fat aveirah right now and nobody is going to now about it but Hashem, and I’m keeping myself from doing it because of Hashem, will this also be considerd as if all our problems are solved? or this is just between Hashem and me, no BIGGIE ?

  5. I used to think it was ok just to leave a note on the windshield – this is what I always do when i ride my bike and sometimes make scratches on people’s cars, but baruch hashem i now see a higher madreiga

  6. Im sorry to sat that MOST people would do this . Most people i know would probably not wait half an hour but would do what I did in a similar situation > i placed a b note with my phone number on the windshield and asked the owner to call me because I scraped his car . In my case I wasnt even sure if I caused any damage ,because the car had other dents . The owner called me and told me I didnt do anything .

  7. I wished the guy who hit my brand new car at Rockland Kosher parking lot would come forward- car had 200 miles on it when he crunched the side and ran-

  8. #13, it sems that you are rubbernecking a little TOO MUCH. Who says Reuvain isn’t making stides in his Yiddishkeit? Maybe he is the person that was sitting next to you by mincha. If you care to notice that there is somone there. I often hear criticsm from Modern Orthodox people that Yeshiva-leit have no concept of bein odom lechaveiro. To call oneself by his name shows IDENTITY. How do YOU identify yourself? As Shmuel or Sammy, maybe Sheldon- a nice “Jewish” name. Teshuva means to ome closer to HaShem, calling himself by his name and putting on a yarmulke might be a small step, but it is a step in the right direction. May we all be zoche too come closer to HaShem step by step. This person was just waiting for somebody to show him what Yiddishkeit is about. Yasher Koach R’ Kresch for expressing emes and consideration for others money- signs of a true Tzurva D’Rabonon (see Bava Metzia 23b-24a)

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