In desperation, Raphael came to me and begged me to find him something to do
As a caterer, most of Raphael’s work disappeared when COVID arrived, and he closed down. This left Raphael with too much free time and too few responsibilities. Raphael and his wife lived in an empty nest, and he needed to be busy. Raphael attempted to learn more Torah, and indeed he took advantage of shiurim available on Zoom. Nevertheless, Raphael still had a lot of time to fill. In desperation, Raphael came to me and begged me to find him something to do. “Rebbi, I am 64 years old,” he told me, tears running down his cheeks. “All I know how to do is cater. I can never see rebuilding my business. I have just enough money to live, and honestly, I don’t have the zitzfleish to sit and learn more than one hour a day. What am I to do? I don’t have money to run a tzedakah fund, and I don’t have the kop to shteig. What am I going to do?!”