Religious Jews that went on an organized vacation in France were disappointed to find the town they were visiting had no synagogue or place suitable for orderly prayers and Torah study. The tourists were visiting the town of Bonneval sur Arc which at the foot of the French Alps in southwest France not far from the Italian border. They were hoping that they could enjoy the breathtaking scenery along with the regular amenities religious people need like a synagogue and a place to study.
When they found that this wasn’t the case, they organized prayers in one of the rooms that the group was occupying. But one of the tourists called up the Town mayor and explained to him the difficulty a large group of religious Jewish tourists have because they don’t have a normal synagogue or study hall for organized prayers.
The mayor immediately offered a solution. He brought the keys to the chamber of the town council and gave them free use of the large room for 3 weeks of prayer and Torah study.
One of the tourists told Kikar Shabbat that “the whole group was deeply impressed with the noble gesture of the non-Jewish mayor who didn’t hesitate to help them.”
