What Mrs. Deitsch Secretly Mentioned to Her Husband
Motzoei Shabbos Story: When businessman Dovid Deitsch was asked to donate to Yeshiva Tomchei Tmimim, his wife Sara signaled to him from behind.
by COLlive Reporter · COLliveBy Dovid Zaklikowski for Hasidic Archives
As businessman Dovid Deitsch saw his company grow, then flourish, his giving to charitable causes expanded. However, in his unique way, Dovid had little patience for the fanfare that often surrounds philanthropy. Chitchat, flattery, and intricate explanations about where the money was going were all distasteful to him.
This attitude was the product of his upbringing. Dovid had watched his parents feed hundreds of starving people without ever expecting thanks or praise. Whatever extra money the Deitsches made went to others, as if it was obvious to them that G-d had given it for that purpose.
His roots not only taught him how to give, but also where to give. Dovid and his wife Sara Deitsch may have lived far from the center of Lubavitch, but their charitable causes were still very much their own. Because they avoided recognition, it is difficult to map the full extent of their charitable work. Several causes that were dear to them are known, however, and to those they gave generously in the blunt, no-nonsense style typical of the family.
The United Lubavitcher Yeshivoth, based in Brooklyn, was one such institution. To Dovid, it was a continuation of the clandestine Lubavitch yeshivah he had attended in the Soviet Union, and while he had not completed his education there, he fondly recalled his days as a student. As a successful businessman in New Haven, he donated to the yeshivah in Brooklyn regularly and encouraged his business associates to do likewise.
Rabbi Shemaryahu Gurary, known as the Rashag, headed the institutions and was a welcome visitor at the Deitsch home and office. On one particularly memorable visit, Dovid, as usual, cut straight to the point: “How much?” he asked. The Rashag stated an amount.
Across from the Rashag was a large china closet, and he looked up to see Sara, who was standing behind him, reflected in the glass doors. She was holding up two fingers at her husband, indicating that Dovid should double the amount.
The Rashag laughed. In all his years of fundraising, he said, he had never seen anything like that – a donor insisting on doubling their donation.
An excerpt from the forthcoming book Yards of Kindness: The Life of Dovid and Sara Deitsch, available at HasidicArchives.com.
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