By Larry Gordon
It was a very hot day when we arrived in Israel almost four weeks ago. Although we were pretty exhausted, we knew it wasn’t a good idea to delude ourselves into thinking we would just “take a nap” at noon, as that can upset the schedule for at least the remainder of the day.
So we did what we have been doing for about half a dozen years in order to hit the ground running when in Jerusalem. We called Bentzion, who works as a private transportation entrepreneur. Since I’ve know him, I’ve always marveled at the little empire that he runs, which he crafted himself, and how busy he is.
But this past year could not have been a good one for him and his team. Bentzion lives in Jerusalem, and when the pandemic wreaked havoc with tourism to Israel, Bentzion carved out a new niche for himself and his team. In the few days that we spent with him recently he was constantly on the phone arranging trips to the airport for students and young couples who were heading back home, either to the U.S. or Europe, as the summer began.
Pretty soon he will be busy with most of the same people heading back to Israel to either study or live. But in between the shuttling of students to and from the airport he has time to squeeze visitors like us into his schedule. He used to have many more, and very often he had to delegate a good percentage of his business to one of his brothers or some friends who own cars formidable enough to ferry around passengers.
As far as I know, Bentzion is one of 14 children from Bnei Brak. Before this year, when I used to call him for a ride to one destination or another, he would very often tell me that he was sending one of his brothers. The funny thing is that although he refers to all his drivers as his brothers, some of them are and some are not.
So how do you figure out who’s who? Basically, by asking the driver if he is Bentzion’s brother. Some of the drivers say yes, because Bentzion is their actual brother, but some look at you as if to say: What are you talking about?
So far I have met two of his brothers and one driver who admitted to being his cousin. One of the brothers looked exactly like him, just a little younger. Another brother is a Breslover chassid, a nice and personable young man as well as a pretty good and attentive driver.
On the way back from Bnei Brak, where we sat with Rav Chaim Kanievsky, shlita, for ten minutes I told Bentzion that this time when I get back to New York I am going to do a story about him. He didn’t protest and added that he has a sister and brother-in-law who live in Far Rockaway. One of Bentzion’s parents is an American citizen, I think it was his father, who passed away last year. That makes Bentzion an American citizen, although he says he has never been to the States and has no plans of ever traveling here.
He speaks English fairly well but does not understand everything we say. If you’ve never been in his car you could easily conclude that he is a reckless driver. But if that were actually the case, it would no doubt impact negatively on his business. One important feature in his car is an alarm-like pinging that sounds when he gets too close to another car. It’s an important feature for him to have.
On the other hand, if you’ve driven in Israel, the fact is that this is just the way Israelis drive. Just about all of them are aggressive drivers and if they spot an unused inch between their car and another car there is no reason why that seemingly extra inch should go to waste.
On that first day in Israel a month ago, he drove us to my parents’ and father-in-law’s kevarim in Beit Shemesh. It was very hot that day, probably a little bit over 90 degrees. We davened, meditated, and managed to stay there for about a half-hour. After that we were still holding up so we asked Bentzion to take us to Kever Rachel in Bethlehem.
I davened Minchah and recited Tehillim at Kever Rachel, the gravesite of one of the great biblical heroines of the Jewish people. Her story never fails to astound. Her early death in childbirth, her reverence for her older sister Leah, and then there is the matter of her being buried here alone far away from the rest of her ancestors who are interred in Hebron.
Traveling with Bentzion is not like traveling with anyone else. Spending the day with him becomes a personal odyssey; as soon as the day starts you become intertwined with whatever else he is busy with.
For example, once we were done at Kever Rachel we couldn’t find Bentzion and he was not answering his cellphone. Being with him means that you and Bentzion become one person—he is you and you are him. In this case, he was inside davening Minchah with another minyan.
On Monday, after the 17th of Tammuz fast, we headed to Tel Aviv to spend some time in the Carmel Shuk. After Machane Yehuda this is the next-best place to spend the afternoon. I told Bentzion once he dropped us off not to wait as we were meeting friends, going out to eat, and so on. He said that he had things to do in the area and would do those things and take us back to Jerusalem when we were ready.
{IMG Larry meeting with Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky 2021.jpg
{Caption Larry Gordon meeting with HaRav Chaim Kanievsky, shlita
Two days later, on Wednesday, Bentzion took us to Bnei Brak for our brief encounter with Rav Chaim. When our dear friend Rabbi Matisyahu Lessman took us into Rav Chaim’s study, Bentzion was right behind us. About a half-hour later, when we were ready to leave, we had to look for Bentzion; he was somewhere in Rav Chaim’s apartment speaking with someone and snapping photos or whatever else you do when you are there.
Once we were back in his vehicle and on the way out of Bnei Brak to our next stop, Bentzion turned into a driveway and announced that he needed a few minutes so that he could visit his mother. There we were, sitting in this driveway—at least I think it was a driveway—and he’s inside with his mom. I’m looking at Esta and she’s looking at me, wondering what we are doing sitting here on a hot summer day waiting for Bentzion to emerge from his visit.
About 15 minutes later Bentzion popped back into the car, but this time with a Tupperware dish filled with cut-up cantaloupe. He said that his mother prepared it for us and that we should feel free to indulge accordingly. Frankly, it was the sweetest fruit that I had eaten in a long time.
So we were on our way back to Jerusalem and as usual Bentzion was on his phone dealing with a chesed situation or travel matter or the like.
As I mentioned, I’ve known Bentzion for at least a half-dozen years and I know that he spends most Shabbosos with his wife and children at Hadassah Hospital, dealing with family members of patients and providing them with food, lodging, and minyanim.
On this day, as we headed toward Jerusalem, Bentzion got a call from someone who would have to be in Tel HaShomer hospital in Ramat Gan with a family member over Shabbos. This person was concerned about kosher food and a place to stay over Shabbos. Without probing, I’m guessing that when they said kosher food, they were talking about glatt kosher or something along that line.
I mentioned to Bentzion that I know Levi Gopin, who is the Chabad shliach at that hospital. I gave him Levi’s number, Bentzion got him on the phone, and in no time the fellow had a place to stay and was assured that he would receive the food he required.
I don’t know if you will be going to Israel anytime soon, but I hope that restrictions will ease up over the short-term. If you want to reach Bentzion, just e-mail me and I will send you his number. He’s very quick and efficient. One thing I can assure you is that when you return, you will have that pinging from his car’s alert mechanism ringing in your ears for a few days. Eventually, though, it will go away.
Read more of Larry Gordon’s articles at 5TJT.com. Follow 5 Towns Jewish Times on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter for updates and live videos. Comments, questions, and suggestions are welcome at 5TJT.com and on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
