Manhattan, NY – A homeless, anonymous Holocaust survivor who passed away recently at the age of 92 left $100,000 to the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, even though she had no known connection to the institution, and another $100,000 to her last employer.
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According to a Hebrew University spokesman, the Jewish woman, who had been living out of a shopping cart in Manhattan, apparently had no surviving relatives.
Almost nothing is known about the woman except the unusual story of her employment during the last months of her life.
A man apparently unaware of her background and her advanced age offered her a business proposition: She would help him avoid getting parking tickets in Manhattan, and he would give her food and a bed.
“She moved his car in Manhattan from one place to another, and he gave her a room to sleep in and a hot meal once a day,” said Carmi Gilon, vice president of external relations at the university.
The man, who was Jewish, and his wife knew little about the elderly woman, who was surprisingly capable at her advanced age of maneuvering the car around the packed streets of Manhattan and out of the way of ticket-writing policemen.
Gilon said the couple had been amused when the woman informed them that because of their generosity she would leave them all of her property when she passed away. They figured she had no money.
But after the woman died, the couple received a phone call from a lawyer who informed them they were the beneficiaries of $100,000.
The deceased woman’s will also stipulated that another $100,000 be given to the university.
Gilon said that the university had no known connection with the woman, and had been surprised by the donation.
“Two days ago the woman’s representative came to my office in Jerusalem and gave me a check for the money,” said Gilon. “She had never visited Israel and had never been in any contact with Hebrew University or with our office in New York. We cannot understand why someone who has $200,000 chooses to live homeless.”
The woman did not stipulate in her will how the donated money should be spent, but Gilon said the university would probably use it to establish a scholarship for low-income students.
“Every year, at least three or four students can enjoy this money, and I believe that such a lady would love to know this. We won’t use the money for the regular budget,” Gilon said.
what can you really say about this?….. only that you never know what the pay off for a chesed you do for someone is in this world. Can you imagine what the pay off is in the next world
wow! unbelievable!
very interesting, but not surprising, people dont understand, that alot of times homeless people are not poor, its either a meshugas or a way of living they enjoy!
May this woman’s neshama have an aliyah. Let’s all say tehillim for her.
on my way out to make friends with some homeless..
Baruch Dayan HaEmet, it should only be an aliyah for her neshama, a real tzadeikes, a Jewish Soul no matter how the physical body is draped, is a Jewish Soul.
they deserve every penny…they did this woman the biggest favor by keeping her busy and giving her a roof over her head. what goes around comes around……
Truly amazing story… Since when the 200,000$ in NY make you rich?! Unfortunately, you need 200G in the bank plus 200G annual income to pay a one bedroom rent in NY.
Her Neshamah Should have an Aliyah, truly amazing soul, and the benefactor’s Zechus is amazing.
Anyway to check if this women had a drivers license? as if not, how do you justify letting a 90 year old drive around in manhattan?
Loved this story, Thanks VIN
Not sure what the great mitzva was. If she would have willed the money for a yeshiva or for a keren yesomim or hachnosas kalla for aniyim then surely her neshoma would have a great aliyah.
#13 : better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak and remove all doubt…zai nisht kain na’ar.
This is a great chesed.
She gave the people the feeling that they were helping someone. She gave them far more than they gave her. She helped students and staff.
She was a brave woman who was skilled in manuevering around life, and around streets.
Boruch Dayan Emes.
Not sure what the great mitzva was. If she would have willed the money for a yeshiva or for a keren yesomim or hachnosas kalla for aniyim then surely her neshoma would have a great aliyah.
Let’s put the charity aside the most important and sad thing that people don’t take out of this story that by this day and age a woman that is holocaust survivor and went through some much in her life is left wandering the streets unoticed where is all our great chesed orgenazations all people are busy is why she gave for this and not for that shame n us for not being there for her all these years
I once heard of a frum chesed org., maybe based in Manhattan or Brooklyn, who drove around at night to homeless people on the street and brought them meals; the volunteers would talk a bit to each of the recipients, get to know their names and sometimes their stories. We should all be inspired by the selflessness of these volunteers.
don’t get it!
what did the employer think? you hire a guy which you don’t know to move your car:
A) park and get a $115 parking ticket
VS.
B)let someone who you don’t know, dosent have a driver license, elderly person (even if he didn’t know she was 92, I bet she didn’t look like a 20 yr. old or even as 50-60 ) drive your car which might cause an accident (by a non-driver of course) and then it will cost you a bit more then $115…. (someone mentioned stealing?).
HEY, YOU NEVER KNOW! he might of kniwn everything about the lady, and he tried to become a good friend ith her, in order that after her 120 (he hoped less…) she should give him (in a ill of course) whatever she has…. even $10k, and of course he’s happy now that he got $100K !!!
good luck to all finding elderly friends! why not?
I make two rules in my mind when im driving and i see a pan handler 1- With the recession, that could be me chas v’shalom one day. 2-if someone is outside pan handling all day they probably need something to eat/drink. So, I always make sure to have extra food in my car to give them.
Boruch Dayan Emes.
I make two rules in my mind when im driving and i see a pan handler 1- With the recession, that could be me chas v’shalom one day. 2-if someone is outside pan handling all day they probably need something to eat/drink. So, I always make sure to have extra food in my car to give them.
Boruch Dayan Emes.
I wonder if halachacally the couple or university is allowed to keep the money….most people write a will that states “Upon my death so and so should receive xyz…” the problem is that according to halacha dead people cannot give presents, at the moment of death the estate is automatically transferred to the next closest relative(s) even if you don’t know who they are, a present after death is like giving a present which was just sold…totally invalid. Thus, according to halacha, unless her will was halachacally valid….it is theft. This is why it is important to have a halachacally (and legally) valid will.
This sounds like some miracle story in a Disney story. I wish that this lady has a proper Jewish burial and an Olam Haba to come. She survived the Holocaust and must have had a scarred life not having any family roots which drove her to such conditions.
Does she have a JEWISH name? Where was she buried? Her neshama should have an aliya