In the English town of Cheshunt, Hertfordshire, Devonte Cafferkey, 13, Sammy Farah, 14, and Shawn Young, 12, were coming home from St Mary’s High School when they saw a man sitting at the edge of an overpass in Waltham Cross. There was a rope strung around his neck.
This man was much older, and much stronger than these young boys…but they were the only ones around and therefore the only ones who could save him. One ran for help as the other two held onto him with all they had. Soon others came to grab the man as well and keep him from hurting himself.
While clearly this was traumatic for the boys, they didn’t focus on themselves or their fears and just did what needed to be done. And in doing so, they saved this man’s life.
Jewish philosophy teaches that there is no such things as coincidence. While it would be easy to think that these boys were not the ideal ones to help this man, there is a reason they were at that place at that time. And their incredible courage and quick action is something that impacted not only the man they saved, but clearly their own lives and the lives of so many others.
