The busiest day of the year for Jews the world over is erev bedikat hametz, the day preceding Pesach, when the clock is ticking towards the time when all hametz must be out of the house, and preparations for the Pesach seder are coming to a crescendo. It was on this day that a frazzled woman called the Mitzvah Man Hotline.
But she was not the typical type of caller, in need of urgent help with something beyond her means.
“I own a children’s clothing store,” the caller began, “and I just received one hundred cartons containing 1,000 units of high-end beautiful baby clothing. The problem is that the shipment arrived late, due to a foul up on its way to another country. I don’t have use for all this clothing right now. And there are one hundred cartons sitting on my sidewalk, blocking the entrance to my house! Might you have someone who can take it? I want to donate this entire shipment – but it has to be picked up right away!”
This is the type of problem the Mitzvah Man office loves to solve! We began brainstorming in the Mitzvah Man office. Aha! We located the phone number for a baby gemach that had contacted us in the past.
We called the number immediately. They couldn’t believe their ears! The gemach sent volunteers who eagerly picked up all one hundred boxes, amazed at their good fortune. The gemach had been running low on clothing, and the organizers had no idea where they could find what they needed so close to Pesach. And the woman who donated the baby clothes was grateful as well. The boxes were no longer blocking her door, and she had the merit to do a remarkable mitzvah.
Pesach is a time we especially feel Hashem’s Hand directing us with hasgacha pratit – and this is certainly true for the Mitzvah Man organization!