No Stranger to Torah
It was during the first Intifada in Eretz Yisrael. Throughout the world, Jews were suffering at the hands of foreign nations.
It was no wonder then, that when an Arab who happened to be in France visited our yeshiva there, he was met with suspicion. He had grown interested in Torah and found satisfaction in attending Torah shiurim. As he sat beside the yeshiva students, he drank in every word of Torah. Its sweetness was soaked into his neshamah and stirred his soul with yearnings for his Creator.
But the students were wary of their new classmate. They honestly presumed he was a terrorist, who had come to attack the disciples of the yeshiva. They therefore chased him away, warning him never to return.
The man, who truly wished to study Torah, came to me in tears. He said his Arabic features were what made the students reject him. What should he do?
I looked into his eyes and recognized that he spoke the truth. I brought him back to the yeshiva, and told the boys to allow him to stay.
He learned in our yeshiva for a number of years. Then I sent him to learn in Eretz Yisrael. There, he converted and became a full-fledged Torah Jew. Eventually, he moved to Brazil, where he became an outstanding talmid chacham, learning both day and night, and knowledgeable in all areas of Shas.
I had the merit of supporting his Torah learning. For over fifteen years, I have sent him a monthly stipend. I am certain that this is the greatest type of tzedakah possible.
This righteous convert’s diligence is so great that once, while speaking to him on the phone, I felt he was hurrying to finish the conversation. He was concerned over every moment wasted from Torah study and was rushing off to the Beit Hamidrash.
I told him, “Fortunate are you in this world, and how good is your portion in the World to Come.”
Fortunate is the one who crossed the border from gentile to Jew. And he is especially fortunate if he sanctifies his time and energy for unceasing Torah study, never stopping to partake of earthly pleasures.
