A Foolproof Segulah That Will Have You Driving You Own Brand New Car in No Time

Dear Readers:

Here is a foolproof segulah for getting behind the wheel of a brand new car – donate the one you are currently driving to Project YES!

If you have a car, SUV or minivan in good driving condition that you would consider donating to Project YES, it would be most helpful. As I will be driving it personally and not re-selling it, you will be entitled to the full tax deduction of its current ‘blue-book’ value, which is considerably more than you would receive if it was donated to be resold.

If you are in a position to give us a hand and partner in our life-saving work by donating an automobile, kindly drop me an email at yhprojectyes@gmail.com.

Thank you very much.

Yakov Horowitz

P.S. Tonight’s webinar “Parenting Matters – Part One: Having the Talk about Personal Space Before Your Child Leaves for Camp” is already oversubscribed, meaning that we filled the number of slots we reserved for this week with readers who have already signed up to participate. (We actually have one reader who is participating from the comfort of her home . . . in South Africa, and others from London and Eretz Yisroel.)

We plan to post tonight’s webinar on our website and we are working on building capacity for next week’s webinar on Thursday night, June 17th at 10:00 p.m. so that more of our readers will be able participate. Kindly email ProjectYES@pyes.org or call our office at (718)256-5360 ext. 209 to sign up for next week’s session.

The following is a thought provoking email that I received this morning from Rabbi Ron Yitzchok Eisenman, the Rov of Congregation Ahavas Israel in Passaic, NJ. He has graciously allowed me to share it with you.

“Where are Your Shoes?”

Yesterday, a young man who works in construction asked me the following question.

He works for a Jewish contractor however; he is the only Jewish worker in the crew. The other men are Latino. The young man explained to me that every morning the crew meets and they are given their assignment for the day. In general the contractor gives them eight hours worth of work. They are expected to be at the site at 8:00 a.m. and are expected to stay on task until 4:00 p.m. when the work day ends. They are paid by the hour.

Yesterday, he told me that they were able to finish their work at 2:00 p.m. The older Latino workers packed up and were going to leave. Before leaving for the day, they looked at the younger Jewish worker and told him, “Don’t tell Morris (the boss) that we left early. If he asks where we were at 3:15 pm when he usually comes by to check, just say we were on a break.”

The young man came to me yesterday and asked, “Am I obligated to tell Morris that we left early? After all, how can I take a pay check at the end of the week for working eight hours today when in reality I only worked six hours today? Isn’t that geneiva(stealing)?”

As I looked at this young Jewish man who works hard for his money day in and day out, I was filled with a sense of pride. Here is a young Jewish man who works honestly and wants only to be paid for the hours he worked and not for the hours he has not worked!

While I was looking at this young man I realized that he was serving Hashem in the way he was made to; by working an honest day’s work and not sitting around idly wasting time.

There is a famous story about the Netziv- Rabbi Naftoli Tzvi Yehuda Berlin 1816-1893- who is one of my heroes.

The story is told that when he completed his famous magnum opus –a commentary of one of the most difficult books of the oral law- he made a festive celebration.

At the celebration he said the following: “I am thrilled that I was able to complete this commentary. When I was younger, my parents were considering apprenticing me out as a shoe-maker. Imagine if that would have happened. At the end of my life I would have gone up to heaven and they would have asked me, “R’ Naftoli, where is your Torah commentary which you were supposed to author? All we see are shoes!” Therefore, I thank Hashem for allowing me to pursue my destination and my calling.”

This story has made the rounds of countless yeshivos and kollels and has no doubt inspired young men to strive for the heights in their scholarship.

However, recently, someone told me that Rav Avrohom Yehoshua Soloveitchik Shlit”a – the Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshivas Brisk in Yerushalayim, commented that with the population explosion in the yeshiva world; and with the plethora of men who are convinced that their calling is to be perpetually placed in the Kollel, we run the risk of having the opposite scenario. Meaning, perhaps some of us at the end of our Earthly existence in this world are going to be asked not, “Where is your commentary on the Torah?” But rather, they will be asked, “Where are your shoes?”

Meaning, it is wonderful to sit in the yeshiva and learn the Torah as long as you are making the most of your time there. It is a privilege to sit in the Kollel day in and day out; year in and year out. However, if you are finding that you are spending more time with the coffee cup then with the chavrusa or you are coming to the Kollel later than earlier; then perhaps one has to ask himself, “What indeed is my calling?”

For as tragic as it may be to not have authored the sefer which you could have and should have written; isn’t it equally as tragic, to not have supplied the world with the shoes which you could and should have?

I was proud of this young man who asked me this question.

At the end of the day I felt that when they ask him after 120 years “Where is the room you were destined to build?” He will be able to point to it proudly and with a sense of dignity.

May Hashem help all of us locate and achieve our true callings.