It was Shabbat eve before the holiday of Passover. Benyamin and Keren Gomel were making their way from Bnei Brak to Haifa. Before leaving Bnei Brak, they also picked up their Rabbi and his wife, Rabbi and Mrs. Pinchas Barzel.
3:30 pm
They left Bnei Brak when it was 3:30. A few minutes later, Benyamin stopped the vehicle abruptly. “Flat tire!” he informed the passengers.
Fortunately, their vehicle was new and contained all the necessary equipment to replace the flat tire. After they drove to a gas station in nearby Petach Tikva to make sure that it was a real flat tire and the wheel didn’t just need air, Benyamin began replace the tire.
3:50 pm
Shabbat will arrive in less than three hours, and they still have to reach Haifa. To speed things up, Benyamin walked to the gas station, to see if there was anyone who would help him.
Suddenly, an elderly man with a bandaged leg who looked like a typical Kibbutznik approached the car. “Need help?” he asked. Before the Gomels could express their concerns about his leg, he squatted on his own two feet and began to assist in replacing the tire. The flat tire was taken off and the spare tire was put in its place. And then the really worrisome problem was discovered. Benyamin looked at the tire and was sure that the tire was not good — it was very narrow relative to regular tire.
4:30 pm
Shabbat will be here in another two hours – and no solution in sight. Rabbi and Mrs. Barzel were fervently saying psalms. The kibbutznik, meanwhile, offered to take Benyamin to a tire repair shop to fix the tire. “What tire repair show will be open at this hour?” Keren wonders, but the Gomels have nothing to lose. The kibbutznik and Benyamin drive away, and the three remaining in the car pray from the bottom of their heart for their success.
4:55 pm
Benyamin Gomel and the kibbutznik return … with the repaired tire! At this point it became clear that the spare wheel was perfectly good, but it was a miracle that the flat tire had been repaired, because a spare wheel can not travel more than 90 kilometers per hour, which was not fast enough to get them to Haifa. Binyamin and the kibbutznik connect the repaired tire to the vehicle, and while doing so, the nice man began to talk about himself to the passengers. “My son was critically wounded in the Protective Edge operation,” he said. “He was unconscious for about two months. I’m not a religious person, but I made a deal with G-d when my child was unconscious. I told him: ‘If You wake my kid up, I promise I will help any religious person I meet.’ My son woke up, so when your husband asked if anyone could help, I jumped immediately to do a good deed, even though my son is waiting for me at home. After all, I promised G-d!”
While the stunned passengers were digesting the story, a young secular-looking woman in a car drove up to them and asked: “I see you’re stuck here — would you like me to drive you somewhere? Shabbat will be here soon …” “We were completely dizzy from all the love showered on us without ulterior motives,” says the Gomels. “There are so many Jews we met on our way who were kind messengers.”
The Gomels, of course, thanked the girl and told her that they could manage themselves. They warmly said farewell to the old kibbutznik and went on their way. They arrived in Haifa in time, and even had time to organize properly for Shabbat. And they most likely will never forget this Shabbat eve.
