By Rabbi Yitzchok Schochet
NYPD Officer Lawrence DePrimo has become a household name. On a cold November night, just a few weeks ago, the NY City police officer, on counterterrorism duty in Time Square, encountered an older, barefooted homeless man.
Taking in the man’s plight, the officer disappeared for a few moments into a nearby Sketchers Store, then returned with a new pair of $100 boots, and knelt to help the man put them on.
The moment was captured on camera by Jennifer Foster, a tourist visiting from Arizona. Her picture, posted on Facebook, went viral. With more than half a million ‘likes’ and several million views, the officer became a headline in the press and the topic of conversation on talk shows, including New York’s Mayor Michael Bloomberg mentioning it on his own radio program.
There is so much about this story that tells a story of its own. While the act was unquestionably magnanimous, what made this story particularly sensational? Was it the act per se, or the imagery – a police officer in uniform kneeling beside the homeless man? It is true that most of us would more likely ignore the poor man, if not drop a few coins in his cup. Giving him $100 is something few people would consider, and fewer still would dare dress his bare blistered feet.
But I wonder had it been an ordinary citizen doing the same, would any of us have paid the same attention? Indeed would Foster have still taken the picture? One woman claimed in the New York Times that she had bought the same man a pair of shoes a year earlier. Who knew? Who saw? Who cared?
So what is it that makes this picture generate a fuzzy feel-good factor in some and maybe a twinge of conscience prodding in others? I’m sure there are many people who no doubt give far more charity and maybe offer a lot more help than this one random act.
What speaks to us most about this picture is that it involves a man reaching beyond his comfort zone. Seeing a police officer, for whom this single act of kindness might be considered beyond his call of duty, makes us all consider whether we would go out of our way for the sake of someone we might otherwise believe beneath our dignity to help.
Will more of us who viewed this picture be moved to doing more in helping those less fortunate than ourselves, even where it might not come naturally to us? I certainly hope so. But in doing so, think about this as well: It’s not just about the stranger in the street or the orphan in a third world country. Sometimes it’s about someone a lot closer to home.
What prompted my thinking about all this is the fact that I’ve had to walk with a rather ostentatious sling on my hand this past week following shoulder surgery. It tends to draw sympathy. Cars and buses will stop enabling me to cross the road. People politely sidestep, allowing me to pass. And there are always those who kindly inquire as to my well-being.
But what of those who don’t wear the badge of their pain on their sleeve? There are many who may be hurting on the inside where one cannot readily recognize the depth of their wound. When we see someone acting out of character do we pause long enough to consider that perhaps they may be undergoing some emotional difficulty, whether pressure at work, at home, or suffering some other form of personal distress? Asking after someone else’s welfare may not always come natural, yet it requires far less effort and costs far less money than putting a pair of boots on a homeless man’s feet. And it could often go just as far in bringing them some relief.
A manager working at the Sketchers store told the press: “We were just kind of shocked. Most of us are New Yorkers and we just kind of pass by that kind of thing.”
One act of random kindness has thrust Officer DePrimo into the limelight across the world. If more of us stopped passing that kind of thing – whether on the street or on the home-front – maybe we would be less shocked the next time we encounter it. And think how much more light we could generate across our world.
Wow!
One officer who is not a total pig… great to see the exception that makes the rule.
The cop did a very noble thing, and it shows that he has wonderful medos. But in reality, coddling homeless individuals only perpetuates their unfortunate situation.
I was giving another perspective on the matter.I have a degree in social services,and have worked in a 200 bed criminal mental hospital tracking their tendencies for medication dependencies. I honor the heart and mind of the officer as well as the poor man,believe me.I have worked around and assisted unfortunate,demented and not yet well people in a clinical situation since 1956.My grandmother and mother both owned convalescent homes,and we cared for these people,many victims of WW2 and the Korean conflict. I was changing bed pans and feeding them before kindergarten.I care,and today I work with the IDF for their… Read more »
Your reaction surprises me. This person was asking for help. Better to say, “How can I help you? Here’s my phone number.” My mother bought socks for beggar on Kingston Ave. when we visited crown heights. The next day she scolded him for not wearing them. He said, “i’m saving them for Shabbos”.
Rabbi Schochet will be doing some travelings to the US in the coming weeks/months to book him for a shabbos or lecture please contact [email protected]
On another posting COL writes about Yitzchak Shuchat. And here Rabbi YItzchak Schochet writes about helping even people you consider beneath your dignity. Is it beneath anyone’s dignity to help Shuchat who is being extradited? We helped a Rabashkin which was in keeping with our dignity. We should be doing the same for him.
always sais Koil hapoishet yad noisnim loi! Doesn’t matter if they are homeless or not.
don’t start with the sanctimonios “you don’t treat us right in CH” attitude. What gives you the right to think others look down on you? Do they know you are struggling? Do they know you would accept a handout? I hate to say this but sometimes if you don’t ask no one else will know to give! Rabbi Shochet is right that we are selective in who we give to but that doesn’t mean we always look down on people who think we look down on them.
We should have this rabbi preach this in crown heights. There are many of us on the breadline and others who know our plight. But they don’t look to help us as they should. We work but we ha e kids, tuition, mouthes to feed. Are we beneath your dignity as the rabbi says? Thank you for posting this article. The message speaks to my heart.
Wow David you’ve completely missed the point.
I think what he did with the boots is irrelevant. The issue here is what made this picture viral. The rabbi makes a good point in that.
and he hid the boots because he is afraid that one of the other homeless guys will kill him and take them.They are what they are,and many times they like it,as unfortunate and ugly a life it seems to us. Walk A MILE IN HIS “SHOES”,and you might understand what he needs to be….nowhere.He is happier there. Homelessness… is a state of mind.
David Benveniste,Tsfat
The world is ready for moshiach the acts of goodness and kindness to bring moshiach
Like the officer said when asked what Do you say to all Your attention? He said simply that people should also to acts of goodness and kindness.
The massage to the world the rebbe said to CNN about bringing moshiach closer
He said by the interview $75 boots