for some communities, it only takes 10 hours to make a miracle happen.
this community has their own moses, a moshe margaretten. he is perhaps characterized as a trouble maker for the cause of goodness. he started something and then it took his whole community to act as one big moses. they staged their own mini-exodus for the sake of people they did not know.
mr. margaretten’s initial goal was to see if he could get the famous “last jew” of afghanistan out of the war torn country. the famous “last jew,” mr. simantov, however, wished to remain.
with that goal no longer possible and with the planning in already in process, a new goal emerged. moti kahana, the hired extractor by mr. margaretten, learned that members of the afghan national women’s soccer team, a judge, a prosecutor, and some family members, sought to escape the country. to do so, mr. kahana would need $80,000.00.
mr. kahana reached out to mr. margaretten with the price and objective. mr. margaretten replied that he needed 10 hours.
mr. margaretten is from an ultra orthodox jewish community in williamsburg, brooklyn community. they collected the money and it was indicated that it would also be used to assist the refugees after their departure. in total, the williamsburg brooklyn jewish community was able to save 23 lives. thetimesofisrael.com
these are the times when ordinary people must take it upon themselves to do the extraordinary. while giving and charitable acts are a day to day obligation, there are times when larger acts of goodness and kindness are needed.
the torah stands as an eternal reminder of humanity’s need to help others. assisting an individual to freedom is perhaps one of the greatest gifts of all.
during this troubled time, this blog has posted stories of many american citizens who taken the lead to save lives. they have taken their time and money to reach out to those in afghanistan. history will likely record this moment as a time when the citizenry led when the government couldn’t.
be well!!
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