Dear
Readers:
To tell this amazing story fully I must start with an excerpt from my new book, DELIGHT.
"Even
for those of us with the energy for positive
action,...good deeds are often hard to undertake.
We end up wondering if what we do has any meaning or
importance. Sometimes we go out of our way to
phone a difficult aunt, return a book, or give a
compliment, and receive nothing in return. It's as
if we're throwing sand into the wind. There's no
feedback-no gesture of thanks. Nothing. So
once again, we can be left feeling empty, even though we
have behaved in a positive fashion. After all,
while we should not be doing a good deed in expectation
of a thank you, it's still nice to know that our efforts
have had some sort of positive effect.
Wouldn't it be wonderful
if we were rewarded every time we took a positive
action? I can almost imagine being hugged and
congratulated from on high. How good it would
feel!...."
Of course, most of us,
including myself, don't know how a positive action has
affected someone else! That is part of the
struggle we are all in-to do good in a world that
often gives no feedback at all. It is as if
we throw tennis balls over a fence that is so high we
never know into what court they land or even if they
make it into a court at all!
But never fear. A
lot of our positive 'tennis balls' make it into the
right court and sometimes even go on spending love and
good deeds for years and years. Here is a true
story that touched my family that is the result of a
lady having the courage to play 'tennis' with the
universe many, many years ago! I hope you
enjoy my story:
One day, many years ago,
during WWII, a young man, Joe came into a bakery in
the East End of London. He asked the young
pretty woman at the counter for rye bread and Challah.
He breathed a sign of relief when the bag was handed
to him. The fresh Jewish rye and Challah for
Shabbos smelled so heavenly. He then asked the
pretty woman, if she could find out for him if he
could have an order of bread, including a Challah,
sent to him every Friday on the train. He was
stationed outside of London and there were no Jewish
bakeries there. Edie, the gal at the counter
explained to him that the trains took long time.
It would take 5 or 6 hours for the package of bread to
arrive. That was because the trains were not
direct and packages had to be moved from one train to
another. However it could be done if...
Before Edie would make
any promises she asked him to come back again and
meanwhile she told her mother. Her mother, Mrs.
Levy, told her daughter that she must invite the young
man and any of his friends to their home so the
discussion could continue. Did Mrs. Levy's ears
perk up when she heard that Joe was young, Jewish and
attractive? Perhaps, as she had several
daughters of marriageable age. However, she
genuinely wanted to meet this sincere young man.
When Joe returned to the
bakery he was told that he must come to Edie's home.
That day he was with two other servicemen, so they all
went to the Levy home. Mrs. Levy was a true
'mama' and filled the young men's stomachs with a
delicious meal. During the meal, Joe explained
that he and his buddies had made a pledge not to put
their arms around any young ladies during their tour
of duty. All had left sweethearts behind.
Was Edie disappointed?
Was Mrs. Levy? That is lost in the vapors of
history. But what we do know is that Mrs. Levy
questioned why it was so important for Joe to get this
bread. He explained that he was strictly kosher.
So other bread might look and smell good, but still
have been baked in non-kosher pans.
Mrs. Levy was convinced
of Joe's sincerity and pledged to Joe that
the family would supply him with packages of
bread and other Jewish foods until he returned home.
This is how it would work. Edie and her sister
Simmy would get up around 5:00 AM on Friday morning.
They would go and get the bread as soon as the bakery
opened and have it ready for the first train at 6:00
AM. That was the only way to insure that the
bread would arrive on time and not stale for Shabbos.
Mrs. Levy explained that
she too had three sons in the service and could only
hope that other people were looking out for them.
So all through the next year, whether it was cold, or
rainy and of course, always dark outside, Edie and
Simmie went to the bakery, got the bread, wrapped it
properly for its six hour trip, and often added in
other goodies-a kugel, homemade cookies, or a tin of
sardines.
And as always time
passed. The year was up and the war was coming
to an end. Joe went back to the States, and
married his sweetheart. Mrs. Levy had other
concerns and so did her daughters.
But Mrs. Levy threw out
a tennis ball that was continuing across more than
half a century. And this is how it curved:
Joe never forgot the Levy's. He went to visit
them with his wife and eventually his family. He
sent them special treats from the United States,
things hard to get in London, for the rest of his
life. He wined and dined the Levy family when
they came to the United States. And!!! if that
wasn't enough, he had a friend. I'm sure he had
many friends, but Morris, in particular was one of his
best friends. They went to shul together.
They planed cards together. They went to dinner
with their wives together. They went to see
plays at the Westport Country Playhouse together.
And the ball was still
curving. The Morris and his wife went away
to the Bahamas. This time they were alone.
They were on the beach at the hotel, sitting under a
tree. A little girl, 7, was looking for shade
with her mother and went up and began to talk to them.
The little girl was Jessica, our daughter and of
course the woman was me. A friendship bloomed.
The week in the Bahamas turned from dull to wonderful
as we all went to dinner together every night.
Morris had an infectious sense of humor and Bea was a
sweet, loving woman. We were all eager to stay
in touch. Afterwards, the friendship continued.
The Morris and Bea were always included in
our life events and we in theirs.
And still the tennis
ball was curving. The day came when our daughter
was going off to London for a year abroad in college.
And to her despair when she arrived at school, there
was no dorm available. What to do? Frantic
calls across the ocean. Somehow Morris was told
about this crisis. Perhaps we had talked by
chance that frantic weekend. He told us not to
worry. He had an idea. He called Joe and
processed it and then called Edie. Edie and her
remaining family, Mrs. Levy, was no longer alive, now
lived outside of London by the sea.
"Of course, Jessica
can come and stay with us. We would be thrilled.
Send her right away."
Jessica stayed with them
a month. They took very good care of a young
women, feeling slightly homesick and lonely.
Every night when Jessica returned from London
University she found tea and a delicious light supper
waiting for her, as well as company and a bed
warmed with hot water bottles. When a room
came available Jessica, somewhat reluctantly moved
out, visiting with them the rest of the year.
Over the years since
then, we have all visited. And the reason this
story is so much on my mind right now is that we just
visited Edie while on vacation. Simmie is gone
and Edie lives by herself in a retirement village.
We reminisced about Joe and those days long ago.
I promised to take a note to Joe's son for her
(Joe has passed away) and I did. And I also
promised to myself that day to share this story with
you. Mrs. Levy sent that tennis ball much
farther than she could have imagined and it has been
bringing positive deeds into the world every since!
Dr. Barbara Becker
Holstein