He came in a chauffeured gas hog.
He came sans tefillin and tallit. (Our minyan is the earliest in the county.)
He came with a document from some rabbinical organization.
He came for money.
Money for what?
To pay off his personal debts.
Not to help pay medical bills (in Israel almost completely paid by the government).
Not to help pay for yeshiva students (both yeshivas and students are on the dole)
No, to pay off “personal debt.”
Like a vacation in the United States?
He took his document to the rabbi who told the gentleman without tallit or tefillin that he (the rabbi) would put out an envelope and that those who wanted to donate would put their dollars into the envelope, do not – the rabbi admonished the man – confront individuals.
Before we finished שמע ישראל and the end of עלינו the gentleman was standing by the amud where he could carefully watch who put what into the envelope.
He was, after all, in a hurry to get to the other congregations in town – we have 8 to 10 observant synagogues and one, Young Israel, has multiple minyans. His driver was waiting for him with the motor running. No, I do not exaggerate.
Anyway, the gentleman approaches my table neighbor and – despite the rabbi’s specific instruction not to approach individuals – especially those adding their personal prayers as my neighbor was doing – put out his hand under my neighbor’s nose (blocking his view of his sedur). My neighbor, incidentally, already contributed to paying off the man’s “personal debt.”
AM I STUPID? If I have “personal debt,” I try to work to pay it off. Come to terms with my creditors. Worst case, seek a lawyer’s assistance (I know, and get farther into debt). I am NOT going to vacation in Israel; I am not going to find a chauffer with an air conditioned car to haul me around from congregation to congregation in Bet Shean – a place about as hot as south Florida this time of year.
We rail against welfare folks here in the U.S., the ones who can, but won’t, work. Yet we fund – coddle – schnorers from Israel even when they are begging for money that could be provided at home.
The guy who had 14 – or was it 17 – children who came to beg for his daughter’s dowry. Why weren’t any of his children working. Why wasn’t HE working. Because obviously thought it easier to spend thousands of dollars to come to the States.
The guy who came begging for money to pay his medical bills. Why didn’t he turn to the Social Welfare office in Israel rather than spending thousands of dollars to come to the States? (Yes, I know Israel’s socialized medicine doesn’t cover everything and Israel may not have the greatest specialists in all medical fields – although it does in most.)
I think, however, that today’s schnorer wins the title “Chutzpah World Champion.”
