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Recipes,
Announcements and Messages
Sent in by Our
Members
To Send in a Bulletin
"The Gift of Giving"
The author wishes to remain anonymous
Edited by Shmuel Greenbaum
Printed with Permission of http://www.TraditionOfKindness.org
Last night, as I left the
72nd street subway station to walk home, there was a man sitting on the
ground, calling out in agony that he had not had any food to eat all day.
I thought of giving him cash, but instead walked by. I was exhausted from
several very intense days at work. I had all the usual cynical urban
thoughts. When I got to the corner, in my exhaustion, I realized "what a
gift that hungry man had just given me!"
I went to a restaurant a block away and ordered a hot sandwich and an orange
juice, and then walked back to the man, who I was afraid might be gone. He
was still there, and calling out that he had not eaten any food.
I bent down and put the brown paper bag in front of him. He said "thank
you" quietly and I walked away. We didn't see each other's faces.
The teacher of my teachers used to say that when someone asks for help, it is
a gift. I know what hunger feels like. Last night I had the privilege of
helping to reduce the hunger of another human being, and I continue to feel
the awe of it.
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