Charity Truly Pays Off
A genuinely rich human experience can benefit greatly from divine wisdom.
Growing up in Ukraine, I was completely unfamiliar with my Jewish heritage until I was about 10 years old. It was then that I got the extraordinary opportunity to transfer to a private Jewish school, for free. My life has never been the same since.
Public schools in Ukraine were a sad affair. Our teachers mostly tried their best, but between the crumbling Soviet buildings and the decomposing textbooks, it was depressingly unlike the American high schools that I’ve seen on TV.
The Jewish school was something entirely different, however. It was financed through the generous donations of Jews across the globe. Donating was a totally foreign concept to me at the time. Having to recycle used beer bottles and scrap metal to help my family make ends meet ensured of that.
Stepping into the new school building, I realized that it was one of the nicest places I’ve ever been to. The new furniture, walls, floors and windows dazzled the mind. Getting accepted was one of the happiest times of my life.
Things got even more fascinating as my time at the school went on. We were provided with the best teachers, received incredible arts budgets, and were given delicious meals twice a day, free of…
