The Mussar Lesson from Joey Prusak

 

ויקרא י״ט:י״ד

(יד) לֹא־תְקַלֵּ֣ל חֵרֵ֔שׁ וְלִפְנֵ֣י עִוֵּ֔ר לֹ֥א תִתֵּ֖ן מִכְשֹׁ֑ל וְיָרֵ֥אתָ מֵּאֱלֹהֶ֖יךָ אֲנִ֥י  'ה׃

Leviticus 19:14

(14) You shall not curse the deaf, or place a tripping-snare before the blind. You shall fear your God: I am Adonai.

דברים כ״ז:י״ח

(יח) אָר֕וּר מַשְׁגֶּ֥ה עִוֵּ֖ר בַּדָּ֑רֶךְ וְאָמַ֥ר כָּל־הָעָ֖ם אָמֵֽן׃ (ס)

Deuteronomy 27:18

(18) Cursed be the one who misdirects a blind person on his way.—And all the people shall say, Amen.

You're a 19-year-old Dairy Queen employee.  A customer you have never seen before gets in line, and when it is his turn, he places an order and pays. You quickly can tell the customer is blind. After you give him change, he walks away,  but you and other customers in line notice that as he does, he drops a $20 bill.  The older woman in line behind the blind man quickly leans down and picks up the $20, and stuffs it into her purse, saying it was hers. You ask her to give the blind man his money back, but she refuses, and says it was her money. What do you do? 

           

            Yell at the woman to give the money back?

             Ask her to give the money back politely?

            Threaten to call the police unless she returns the money?  

            Do nothing, because the woman must have been desparate to steal from a blind person?

   

 (ABC,  CBS,  and NPR news) 

Minneapolis, MN-- In September of 2013 Joey Prusak was serving a blind customer,  when he noticed the man drop a $20 bill. The woman in line behind the blind man grabbed the $20 bill and put it in her purse.  "It's my money, I dropped it." she said. Prusak then instructed the woman to return the money. After she said no, the teenager made her leave. “I told her, ‘Ma’am, you can either return the $20 bill or you can leave the store, because I’m not going to serve someone as disrespectful as you.'"  Prusak remained calm, but the woman started screaming and swearing at him, and then she stormed out.

After serving the customers who were waiting, he approached the man who had been listening to what happened to his money.  "I told him, you dropped $20. I told him I would like to give him $20 on behalf of myself and Dairy Queen to try and make things right." Prusak gave him $20 of his own money. That was two hours' worth of work at the time.  Prusak had worked at this DQ every summer since he was 14, and was the store  manager that night.   Prusak notes, "I was just doing what I thought was right. I did it without even really thinking about it." 

 

Prusak recived many letters and calls in response for his good deed, as well as money for a college fund.   He now works for Hennepin County's government and as a professional photographer.