Beyond the Bottom Line

by Dovid Zaklikowski for Hasidic Archives

On one of his regular visits to the local senior centers, Rabbi Moshe Wolvovsky, director of The Wisdom Circle, a division of Chabad Central in Boca Raton, Florida, spoke to the audience about how G-d never changes and is always there.

In the crowd was nonagenarian Jerry Greenstein, who before retiring had lived in Brooklyn. He was the owner of Carnival Bags, whom Dovid Deitsch, New Haven businessman, and had supplied with material. At one point, the company was not doing well, and they owed Deitsch Plastic some $300,000.

In a meeting, Mr. Greenstein apologized to Dovid and said he was saddened that he would have to declare bankruptcy. This would mean that among his many creditors, he would not have to repay the money owed to Deitsch Plastic. However, he made it clear that while he might not be able to pay back his debts in the immediate future, he intended to pay them back when he could.

Dovid would hear nothing of it. “You are not filing for bankruptcy!” he insisted. Deitsch Plastic would continue to supply them with material, and when the business improved, they would be able to repay the debts they owed.

Eventually, Carnival Bags designed a product that became successful, and they were able to pay back all of their creditors. All these years later, Mr. Greenstein says that without Dovid’s kindness, he would never have been able to rehabilitate his business. He now had a story that perfectly illustrated the message Rabbi Wolvovsky had shared.

“You see, a Jew who knows,” Mr. Greenstein said, “whatever the situation, as the rabbi explained, that you are always in G-d’s hands, is able to live the way Dovid did. It is not about running after money; it is about helping another person.”

An excerpt from a forthcoming biography on Dovid and Sara Deitsch.

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