Aish HaTorah 
Sharing the joy and meaning of living Jewishly

GOOD MORNING!  I have an amazing story to share with you!  
A rabbi in Dallas receives a phone call from a man wishing 
to make a contribution to his synagogue.  (That he called to 
make a donation is not the amazing part I am referring to...)  
They meet. The rabbi gives the man a tour of the synagogue 
and tells him of the educational programs for the community.  
The man gives the rabbi a check for $2,000.

The rabbi is puzzled why the man -- Jewish, but clearly not 
Jewishly well-educated nor observant  --wanted to make a 
contribution to his synagogue.  The man replies in a thick 
Texas drawl, "Rabbi, recently I was in Jerusalem at the 
Western Wall.  There I saw a man praying with such fervor, 
such concentration ... I was moved to the depths of my soul.  
I wanted to express how moved I was, but I didn't want to 
insult the man by giving him money, so I decided that when 
I got back to Dallas I would make a contribution to a synagogue 
where that man would feel comfortable praying."

The donor continues, "When I returned to Dallas I went to the 
kosher bakery and described the man I saw at the Wall --- the 
long black coat, the broad black hat, the sidelocks --and asked 
where a man like that would feel comfortable praying; Rabbi, 
they told me your synagogue!  So here I am."

The man and the rabbi become good friends, they study together 
from time to time, and they share in each other's family's 
simchas, joyous occasions. Over the years the man and his 
extended family become major supporters of the synagogue and 
its efforts for Jewish educational outreach.

Here comes the interesting part!  The Jerusalemite returns 
from praying at the Wall.  His wife asks him, "So, nu, Berel, 
how was your day?"  And Berel replies, "Nothing unusual." 
Now imagine, after the proverbial 120 years, Berel passes on 
to the next world.  He's greeted in Heaven with the  spiritual 
counterpart of a brass band and a ticker-tape parade and is 
ushered into the presence of the Almighty! The Almighty says 
to Berel, "Berel, I heartily commend you on what you did for 
educating the Jewish people in Dallas!"  Berel, who never in 
his life ever left the Holy Land, stands in bewilderment and 
replies ...  "What is Dallas?"

Like all good stories there is a lesson here for us!   
Each and every one of our actions has ramifications and impact 
far beyond our limited ability to know in this world.  
Therefore, we should always think twice if we are about to 
forego an opportunity to help someone or about to do something 
which would best be left undone.  On a deeper level, even those 
actions which we do not even think others notice or care about, 
can have significant consequences -- in this world and for the 
next.