Electric Jolts of Supermarket Chesed - Monthly Gedolim Story

We are now only a few days after Tu B'shvat, the day, the time of the year when the tress begin to grow, after the cold winter, in which they appear unsaturated and gray, now is when they regain their vibrancy, reignite their colourful spark and begin to spread smooth shades of green colour throughout the world.

The following story, which is the chosen "Monthly Gedolim Story" for this month, is one of tremendous Kiddush Hashem, honesty and deep, open-hearted chessed. In this smooth little annecdote, you will see how one special, thoughtful young man helped ease a difficult inconvenience in a creative, mindful, and gracious way. I think it may leave you with a smile.

For those wondering, the story first appeared in Rabbi Paysach Krohns "The Glittering World of Chesd" book. It was also mentioned in a class by Mr. Ben Isaacson for the world-renowned kiruv organisation, Hidabroot, which was a source mentioned by Rabbi Krohn.

Electric Jolts of Supermarket Chesed - Monthly Gedolim Story

It was a Friday afternoon, January 21st, 2018. It was a very blustery day in Ramat HaSharon, a coastal town in the Tel Aviv district in Eretz Yisrael. There were predictions of high winds and rainstorms for the afternoon hours, so many people did their Shabbos shopping earlier. Yet, the Yohanoff Chaim Supermarket, a very popular and busy store, was filled with customers, with it being Erev Shabbos, a factor in the hustle and bustle.

Almost 100 people were shopping in the supermarket that Friday afternoon when thunder and lightning rocked the area, and suddenly, there was a power outage. The emergency generators kicked in so that the refrigerators and freezers had their own source of power in order that the produce and frozen foods would not become rotten and spoiled.

However, the rest of the supermarket, including the cash registers, did not have power. What would the people do? The observant Jews among the shoppers had to get home before Shabbos, but they had no idea how long it would take to get the power back on.

Zvi Abrahams, the branch manager, had two options at his disposal, but neither of them would be a good fit for the situation. He could ask people to wait patiently until the power turned back on, but nobody knew how look it would take. Or he could ask everyone to leave their food and other items in their cart and go buy their food in other stores. That too would surely make people come very late andvsome may even arrive home after the onset of Shabbos.

There was a third option Zvi could implement, but he needed permission from the store owner. He called him, and the store owner agreed that the third option by and large was on the money. Zvi, after getting off the phone, announced that anyone who wished could take home all the food they had in their carts and enjoy their Shabbos. They could come back and pay after Shabbos.

The customs cheered, stamping their approval and agreement vocally. Close to 100 people left the store with their items. Some left their names and contact numbers st the cash register, while other went home without doing so. When the customers unpacked their bags at home, they wrote an itemised list of all the items they took, or took pictures of the barcodes of the items they brought home.

The story was picked up by the news, and they came to interview Zvi. Reporters were amazed at the magnanimous chessed and Kiddush Hashem of Zvi and his employer. He said, "There were many elderly people with cartloads full of merchandise; many were religious. They waited with admirable patience for the power to come back on, but I knew they would not have enough time to go to another store and still make it home for Shabbos. That's why we decided to do what we did."

He then added, "Some left their names and phone numbers, and they all said they'd come back to pay on Sunday. I totally trusted every one of them."

One woman who left with a cartload of food said later, "I wanted to pay for the meat with cash, so I could start cooking it before Shabbos, but the manager wouldn't hear of it. He sent me home without paying. I'm coming back on Sunday to pay for everything. We should not take for granted what Zvi did for us."

Rabbi Krohn ends this charming story by writing that he had been told that on the Sunday, more than seventy per cent of the people who had left on Friday came back and paid. By next Friday, everyone had paid.

This chessed performed on that day in Ramat HaSharon speaks for itself. One can only say about this, מי כעמך ישראל