Prisoner Touched by Girls Letter

By COLlive staff

It was on a phenomenal Chof Bais Shvat trip to Crown Heights that the tenth graders of Rohr Bais Chaya Academy in Coral Springs, Florida, found themselves farbrenging with each other.

The inspiration of the trip was at a peak, and the girls wanted to find a meaningful “Uvichein” – a practical way to express their commitment to being the Rebbe’s Lamplighters.

Their decision was to combine two mitzvos – hafrashas challa and tzedaka. Every Wednesday since that hachlata, these committed classmates stayed after school to bake challah, and then donated it to the local Tomchei Shabbos. A seemingly small act of chessed, whose effect appears limited.

But now, after months of those challah baking afternoons, the entire student body of Rohr Bais Chaya received a powerful message about how far even the smallest chessed can travel and how profound its effect can be.

Last year, just after tzedakah collector R’ Eli Hecht was imprisoned in Spain, the English teacher at Rohr Bais Chaya suggested that the students send him letters of encouragement. The letters were sent, eventually Rabbi Hecht was thankfully released, and the matter forgotten.

Then, just two days ago, the teacher received this email from a former student, currently attending seminary in Eretz Yisrael. The email read as follows:

“Hi,

“About a month ago we had a very special speaker come to seminary, Rabbi Eli Hecht. Without knowing who was in the crowd he immediately started his tale with a thank you to the students of the Florida high school.

“He said that when he was just taken into prison, when he still had no connections, no kosher food and no Jewish artifacts, he was completely alone. Then came an envelope with letters from the girls of Florida.

He said he had never felt so connected before. He had been in total isolation and suddenly a package arrived, full of words from people who cared. Rabbi Hecht spoke of the realization he had in prison, that he could find another Jew and learn Torah! It was an incredible story and he spoke with such honesty and emes. Throughout the talk he repeatedly mentioned the girls from Florida.

“I just thought I would share it with you so you could pass it on to the other girls. I remember thinking that the letter writing was a nice idea but slightly silly. But then you realize that the letter you wrote to a stranger in prison made him feel connected to other Yidden and truly helped him.

“We don’t realize how the simple mitzvos we do actually have a tremendous impact, until he is sitting at your table staring you in the face. So thank you for this incredible opportunity and eye opener. And please share with everyone else so that they too can know the true effect of their mitzvos as well!”

From a classroom in Florida to a Spanish prison and back again, the lesson learned will last the students a lifetime.