Photo courtesy of Jewish News Agency
I recently exhibited my company's knitwear collection at the Dallas World Trade Center. After making an appointment before the show, I thought I would bring along some Chabad-Lubavitch publications, including: Rushem weekly, scroll, my story This is to give out to the Jews I will meet in the future. The fair draws people from all over the United States, as well as Mexico and the Caribbean islands.
In between appointments, I wandered around Dallas Mart, hoping to meet a Jew distributing Chabad-Lubavitch publications. I went to the food court. There, hundreds of people gathered for lunch and met other buyers.
Now I'm back in the showroom doing some promised work. It's now 3pm and I have yet to meet anyone to whom I can give these publications. I had been walking down the hallway for about 5 or 6 minutes when I suddenly saw two women walking towards me.
One of the women had a Jewish surname on her name tag. Other women did not.I greeted her like this shalom arechaim and wished her Shana Tovah. She jumped up excitedly and said, “You're Jewish. I saw you. Kippa.” We started talking, and I happened to talk about Chabad-Lubavitch. she says: “My son loves Chabad Rabbi in Tenafly, N.J., and so does her husband and I.”
She then told me that her grandfather had recently passed away and was buried in the old Montefiore Cemetery in Cambria Heights.As she expressed her gratitude to Chabad, I Rushem Weekly I published it and gave it to her. “Wow, this is for me.” “Yes, I said it.” After about seven or eight minutes, we parted ways and I prayed her Shabbat shalom.
I'm back in the showroom now. I put it in my bag to grab some more photo brochures I had brought with me for the show. In my bag I see a Shabbat candle set that has been in my bag for over a year. I have to take this candle and give it to the Jewish woman I just met.
I walked out of the showroom, looked around, and spotted this woman. When I saw another woman who was with the Jewish women walking toward me, I couldn't believe her eyes. I immediately approached her and asked her to give this Shabbos candle to her friend. She happily took these candles and said, “I'm giving them to my girlfriend.''
May we all continue to be inspired and empowered by the Rebbe's vision to ignite the soul of the Jewish people, no matter how far away we may be.
