We landed in North Carolina last Thursday night and the next morning we were off!
Coastal Carolina is full, and I mean full, of young Israelis working the season on the coast. They can also be found all over the major malls selling various items, ranging from toys to Dead Sea creams, out of booths.
We started near the beach, where our clientele works mainly in beachwear stores.
We walked into one store and noticed one of the young Israeli salesmen gaping at us with a shocked expression on his face.
We approached him, wished him a "Shabbat Shalom", and asked him if he would like to put on tefillin.
He told us that he arrived from Israel a week ago and had just finished telling his friend how depressed he was because this would be the first Friday in a long time that he would not be visited by the "Chabadnikim" (Hebrew for Chabad people) who would lay Tefillin with him every week…And there we were!
Another great story...
We had left a mall after a very productive visit with some Dead Sea peddlers, when we suddenly realized that we had absolutely no idea where the car was. Having no choice, we started going up and down the rows looking for our vehicle.
All of a sudden we heard "Shalom Aleichem... you must be from Chabad! Let me ask you a question: My three children are religious. They would like to visit me but need to have kosher food. Where can I get some?"
We of course gave him directions to the closest store which sold kosher food and became good friends.
And guess what, as soon as we parted ways, I immediately recalled where we had parked the car!
Go figure. G‑d made us forget where the car was, just so we could help someone in need!
Good Shabbos!
Shmulie and Tzvi Hirsh
