Consecutive weeks of traveling to meetings along freeways across the United States were coming to an end. I returned the rental car to the agency at Kennedy Airport. As part of the service of the rental agency they provided a shuttle to transport the travelers to their designated terminals. Happy and satisfied I stood at the shuttle stop longing for my family in Israel when suddenly a men dressed in Muslim outfit turned to me and said that he was short a few dollars to fill the gas tank of the rental car.
As a general rule: The renter receives a car with a full tank of gas and he must return it to the agency the same way he received it. If not – the rental agency collects an excessive amount from the renter.
I hesitated for a few seconds, but then decided that this was an opportunity to perform a good dead . I reached for my wallet, but for some reason it was not in that pocket. I continued to search my other pockets in order to find the wallet and give the men what he requested – but the wallet was missing!! Perhaps check the suit? In the suitcase? Again I checked the shirt pocket… but the wallet was missing.
I searched in all my bags under terrible pressure because there was a lot of money in the wallet, the passport, international credit cards and many other important and valuable items. Since I could not find it in my bags, I hurried back to the rental car, perhaps I would find my lost wallet. When I reached the counter it turned out that the keys had already been given to the maintenance crew for cleaning and washing prior rental to the next customer.
Frantically, I ran to the parking lot and when I reached it I noticed that all the car doors were open to facilitate cleaning. I called out to the worker and asked him to wait a little and I began searching the car. After a few tense moments, I found what I was looking for under the car seat wrapped in black plastic – exactly in the condition I had left it with nothing missing. Had it been a few minutes later, the story would have had a different ending. Had I refused the man, I would not have been able to board the plane since the passport was in the wallet.
This is just another lesson for me, another message to teach all of us to bring Kindness and G-d’s light into our lives.
Shmuel Winzelberg
י.ו.