Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, is one of the beach areas on the eastern coast of the U.S. Our job is to travel along the coast, meeting people and doing mitzvot wherever we go. We bring tefillin, mezuzahs and Torah literature for the young Israelis who work in beachwear stores.
We meet all kinds of interesting people. For example, we entered a beachwear store, and the Israeli guy behind the counter beckoned to us to see what he had next to his register. He showed us that he had a small photo of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, of blessed memory. "It hangs here proudly all week. But on Shabbat, I know that the Rebbe would be sad to see me work, so I cover it for the duration of the holy day."
In another place, Surf City, we met a middle-aged guy who told us how tough life had been to him. When he warmed up a bit, he told us the following story:
"Many years ago, I ran a jewelry business in Brooklyn, on the corner of Church and Flatbush avenues. Business was good. On November 30, 1990 (I remember the date because it was the day that my wife due to give birth to our child), my store was held up. As you can imagine, I was shaken and traumatized. To make things worse, the thieves made off with all my merchandise, worth more than $300,000. I was devastated and considered my future in business destroyed forever.
"The following Sunday, I joined thousands of others on the long line to receive a blessing and a dollar from the Lubavitcher Rebbe. After giving me a dollar, the Rebbe called me back and told me in Hebrew, "Besurot tovot hayom," which means, "good news today." I was very confused and left wondering how everything would be okay today?
"Later that day, someone to whom I owed a substantial sum of money came knocking on my door. I was afraid to open it because I owed him more than $40,000 and had nothing at hand with which to repay. I didn't open the door, but he kept knocking. At last, I decided to open up and try to explain my predicament. I told him what had happened, and he told me that he had actually come to help me and that he wants to start a business with me.
"To make a long story short, the business was wildly successful, and I more than recouped whatever I had lost in the robbery."
