It is easy to find fault when someone does something wrong. Understanding why they did the wrong thing though, and having empathy for them, specifically when they did the wrong thing, takes a very special person. This store owner, Jitendra Singh, was being robbed. He knew this teenager was shoplifting from him. His initial response was to report him and he had an employee call 911. But then he found out the reason behind the illegal action. The teenager was hungry. He was trying to feed himself and his younger brother. And that changed everything. He was going about it the wrong way, but he was trying to do the necessary thing. Another shopper offered to pay his bill when the owner cut off the call for the police and instead told him if he was hungry, he would feed him. And so he did. He easily could have had him arrested for shoplifting. But the owner knew that he didn’t need jail, he needed someone who understood him, supported him and could help. His goal was that this would serve as a reminder in the future to do the right thing, even when things were tough. There is a concept in Jewish philosophy of a “yeridah tzorech aliyah” which is translated as a “descent for the sake of an ascent.” There are times that when we really mess up, the lesson we learn becomes the impetus to do better and become better. We can only hope that the kind and empathetic actions of this store owner will lead to exactly that for this teenager.
Header image: Singh (left) gave the teen ‘chicken drummies, sausage rolls, and a whole pizza,’ according to a regular customer – Cedric Bishop (right) – who was in the store at the time of the altercation. Image: Cedric Bishop Facebook page.
