Returning a Lost Book and Fulfilling a Mitzvah
Sometimes it's all about a book.
Many years ago, I received an email from a woman in Indiana named Betty Yant. She wrote the following email to me: “I hope you are this person, Dr. Allen H. Lipis, who had signed this book that I have found – the Artscroll Tehillim — a couple of years ago. I have tried to locate the owner from the name Yosef Hiller, but I cannot locate him. I found your name at the back page on the bottom. I would love for this person to get his book back. Becky.”
I responded to her that, indeed, I was that person. “I am that person and would love to retrieve the Tehillim book,” I wrote her. “Call me at home 404-325-XXXX so we can meet. Where exactly did you find the book?”
She responded, “I found it on an airplane a few years ago and have been trying to find the owner and could not. I called people here in Indianapolis but no one could or would help me. I put it up on my computer, then decided to try again. I am so glad that you may help. You do know Yosef Hiller then? We cannot meet for I live here in Indianapolis, but I would be glad to mail the book to you. Becky.”
I had no idea what she was talking about, since I did not think I had lost an article and I certainly had not been in Indiana at all. I wrote her back: “Becky, I live in Atlanta and there are two Hiller families here. One is Rabbi Moshe Hiller and Leah Hiller, and their emails are XXXX@hotmail.org. Their phone number is 404-XXX-XXXX. Moshe has a father who lives here, too. I have no idea why my name would be in their book. If you want to send the book to me, my address is XXXX Lavista Road, Atlanta, GA. Thanks for being so persistent in returning a lost item. It is a mitzvah to do so.”
Since the Tehillim book has lots of Hebrew in it, and Becky was not Jewish, it was likely that she thought the book was more important than other books and probably could not read it. She was obviously a religious person who wanted to do the right thing for what was clearly a religious book. She wrote me back, “Dear Allen, this special book will be on its way to you today. I am thankful for you answering me, an unknown person. I pray that you can return this special book to its rightful owner. Again, thank you.”
Finally, Becky wrote that she trusted our conversation and that she was going to send the book to me, as she had my address. A while later, she wrote, “The book has been sent. Please let me know that it arrived safely. Becky.”
When the book arrived, I wrote her: “Becky, the book arrived today, and I called the Hiller family, whom I know. Yes, the book was given to their son on the occasion of his bar mitzvah at age 13 in my synagogue, when I was president, which is why I signed the front of the book. The book is a book of Psalms and since it is in Hebrew it is read from left to right. Leah Hiller was astonished at the story, and I am delivering the book to her husband tonight. I am sure that they will write to you to thank you as I do now. This is one of the commandments that God asks of us to do: to return a lost item to its rightful owner. May you be blessed for fulfilling this commandment.”
The book was in excellent condition. The only names in the book were the rabbi’s name and mine. There were many more Feldman names, the rabbi’s name, than my Lipis names, and somehow by searching the Internet she found my email address. It turns out that I am probably the only Allen Lipis in the country, and since I have published many articles over the years, Becky was able to find me.
The book belongs to Joseph Hiller, the bar mitzvah boy. It was my pleasure to call the Hillers, tell them that I had their son’s book and I wanted to return it. It is a mitzvah in the Torah to return a lost article to someone, so by returning the book I was doing a mitzvah not only for myself, but also for Becky Yant and for the Hillers.
When I returned the book, Leah Hiller, the mother of the boy, told me that she had taken the book on a flight to New York, was reading it on the plane, and forgot to take it from the storage area in front of her seat. She was, of course, happy to receive the book back.
God works in ways we shall never know. A Christian woman in Indiana found a Jewish book, thought it had significance because it was written in Hebrew, believed it was a very special book because of the Hebrew and decided to try to return it to its owner.
She kept the book for several years and, with a serious effort on her part, she found me on the Internet because my name is unusual. Today, we don’t give out books to bar mitzvah boys in a public display, and it’s unlikely that any book like that would have a label in it that would list the president of the synagogue.
It had to be a miracle that the Hillers got their book back.
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