Rabbi, Social Worker & Sam

Copyright Rabbi Eli Hecht
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Let me tell you a strange story that happened to me this month. It all began eleven years ago...

I told a friend, Sam, about my work involving helping people. How as a chaplain I was active in visiting those in old-age homes, the indigent, and patients in county hospitals. My message was to bring hope to those in despair. Sam's  face beamed with interest in my mission.

"As a Rabbi do you ever help non-Jews, he asked me?" Of course I was a bit surprised that I should be asked such a question. What I thought was an irrational question soon turned out to be a test of my honesty.

Sam explained that he deals with many poor people and didn't really think they could help themselves. He  wanted to know my feelings on this issue. I was   disturbed  thinking that he had an arrogant outlook concerning people at the lower end of the financial spectrum. I wondered if he was a racist.

Surprisingly, I found out that he was the very opposite. As a youngster he had a difficult childhood. He had been on his own ever since his father left his mother for another woman. At the age of fourteen he held all kinds of jobs: including driving a school bus and being a gas jockey at night. Instead of becoming a dead end kid he finished High school and joined a little business. Eventually he married the boss' daughter and did well. In his middle age years he started a new a hobby,  helping people. He spent precious time speaking at prisons and halfway homes in order to help those at the bottom. He gave people help, hope, and direction in  a most undiscriminating fashion.

One late day after a hard day's work I received a call from Sam. "Do you want to help someone before it's to late? If you say no I'll understand." When I said "sure," I was told the following. "The person I want to help is a Afro American lady. She is really in bad shape. If I do nothing I  believe she will just drink herself to death and I want to help her."

"Whatever possessed this man," I thought. "Didn't he have more common sense than to call me late in the evening and ask me to help an Afro American lady on the skids? That's the job of an Afro minister, someone who works with his people. After all, how was I  to help such a person? As a Rabbi I knew I had  to do something. I answered, "Give me a few hours and I'll see what I can do."

At the county hospital I had met a woman, a much older and wiser person than myself. She was one of those diehard social workers, the ones that never give up. In desperation I called her and told her that  I was calling about helping an Afro American lady whose drinking was  out of control and by now was probably out of her mind. She needs help immediately and that we must save her. I knew that my request probably sounded very strange and out of place. After explaining myself I knew I had a  chance.

To my great dismay I was quickly informed that this hospital didn't do that kind of work. In the hospital there is a phrase called "turfing," meaning putting  the problem on some other turf; this way  you don't have to deal with the problem.  Now, I would not accept a "no" for an answer.

"Maybe she has a drug problem  and could be classified as a drug overload case," I suggested. "Let's have her admitted as a  suicide case," I reasoned, "then we could  have a 72 hour hold and work from there." "OK," said my Irish social worker, "you better get her here real fast. I am going off duty in a short time and  I don't know if the emergency room  will buy the story."   

I contacted my friend. Would  he, could he, find the lady in need of help on time! It would take a miracle to get all this together. Well, I prayed and he found her; they went to the hospital, and she was admitted. I was very relieved that it all worked out. From time to time I thought of her and the craziness of the situation.

This week I went to a shop and  met a woman who apparently knew me. She said "Hi Rabbi Hecht, it's nice to see you. It's going to be my tenth birthday this week." I was flabbergasted. What was she talking about? I thought this lady must be in her late thirties or forties. She continued "Its my tenth year birthday of being clean and dry. I am very proud of myself. For the last few years I have attended detoxification programs and I have a great life. I  attend meetings, and help others by  telling them the story of my life. I visit skid row and get people motivated to change and guess what? I am doing a great job in saving those souls. I  have changed my life for the better. You and Sam came at the  very end  and saved my life."

Now I remembered that she was indeed the lady I had helped some eleven  years ago. Imagine how strange are the ways of the Almighty.

 

Here we have a Rabbi, an Irish social worker, a Jewish businessman, and a Christian  Afro American lady all working together saving lives. The odds of such a team coming together is almost unbelievable. But it has happened and if people want to make it happen it will keep on happening.

 

We can help those enslaved  break out of  their enslavement. We can all be free people with our esteem and dignity if only given the chance.