In 1984, we wanted to purchase a certain building to house our institution in Lyon. But the cost of the structure was the astronomical sum of 700,000 francs, which we could ill afford. I was in my thirties then, and this sum was light-years away from anything I could imagine. I had no idea how in the world I would get it. As I took a tour through the building, the owner warned me that if I did not come the next day to sign a lease, he would not hold it for me but would go public.
I returned home, deep in worry over how to acquire the money. My wife took one look at my face and asked what was troubling me so. I told her the whole story and ended that I was concerned that I would not come up with the money on time. The hours went by, and with them, my chance of obtaining this building for our yeshiva.
- Chevrat Pinto, Lyon
In my distress, I turned to Hashem, the One in control of everything, and spoke to Him like a child addresses his father. These were my words, “Ribbono shel Olam, You are great and rule over everything. I wish to build an edifice of Torah for Your sake. You know that I am not doing this for personal honor or acclaim, but for the honor of Your Torah, to raise soldiers for Your army and bring merit to the public. But I need a massive amount of money, which I have no clue how to get. There is no one who can block You from helping me. What are 700,000 francs to You? You can do anything!” I ended my personal prayer with a heartened feeling. I expected to see Hashem’s salvation.
Out of tension, I could not sleep the entire night. Suddenly, at 5:00 a.m., the phone rang. A woman was on the other end, apologizing for the early hour. “I could not sleep all night long,” she explained. “I have a number of gold bars in my possession, which I wish to sell at a profit. But so far, I have not found anyone appropriate to buy them and this disturbs me greatly. Please bless me that I find a buyer.”
I was very surprised at this phone call at such an unusual hour. But I blessed her as she had requested, thinking how I would love to have such problems.
Fifteen minutes later, the phone rang again. This time, it was an acquaintance. In general, I would be the one to approach him regarding various matters. Now the tables were turned. He related that he could not sleep.
“It seems like tonight is a night of wakefulness,” I commented drily. “I myself could not sleep, and I just received a phone call from a woman who could not sleep. Now you are sharing the same sentiment. This is interesting.” I related the incident with the woman on the line and her gold bars that kept her awake at night.
When he heard this, the man asked for details about her gold. Seeing his seriousness, I gave him her phone number so that they could talk directly. A short time later, the woman phoned again, stating that she wanted to come to my house together with this man and a lawyer to sign a contract between them.
Of course, I agreed. The three walked into my home. While the deal was being concluded, I allowed a sigh to escape my lips. Here they were, signing a contract regarding tremendous sums, while I had no clue as to how to acquire the money for the yeshiva building.
Suddenly, the woman handed me an envelope. She explained that she had vowed that if the deal came through, she would donate this sum to me. I opened it and to my delight, found the sum of 500,000 francs. I thanked Hashem for His kindness and eagerly awaited the arrival of the remaining 200,000 francs.
When I got to my office in the yeshiva, I found an envelope sitting on my desk. There were the remaining 200,000 francs, the donation of the man who had purchased the gold. With a happy heart and a prayer of thanks, I went to sign the lease.
This is how we obtained the building of the yeshiva in Lyon, from which Torah spreads throughout the world. From this place, tens of other Torah institutions were established throughout the world, bringing thousands back to Hashem in teshuvah.
