Confessions of a Pushke Thief

I was photographing tzedaka boxes this week for a project and came across a simple blue and white can, like the ones we had when I was growing up. I was reminded of an interesting experience I had a few years ago.

A man had made an appointment with me but wouldn't tell the secretary what it was about. He said he used to be a member, many years ago, and that now that the shul was closing; he had some things he needed to get off his chest. I anticipated some irate person telling me about some perceived wronging from eons ago.

Instead, he was mild mannered, very nice and very uncomfortable. He said that 35-40 years ago when he was a teen, he and a friend had been wandering in the shul instead of being in the sanctuary. They apparently had found a blue and white pushke, and had taken the money inside.

He came into the office to tell me that this has weighed heavily on him all these years and he really would like to make a donation to the fund that the original pushke would have supported.

I explained that I assumed the money would have gone to Keren Kayemet (The Jewish National Fund) and that he can still make the donation and gave him the contact information. And then I asked if he felt that would help him sleep better. He said he wanted to know more about the emotional/spiritual side of the amends. I talked a little about the process of T’shuvah (repentance), how you need to acknowledge and ask forgiveness form the person you have wronged. We talked a little about who that would be. And so he decided that with a check to JNF, he would write a note explaining why he was making the donation.

He left the office after telling me that he really had expected to come into the building and stick a check into another blue and white box and be done with the whole thing. But, he also said he thought this way was more meaningful.

It certainly was for me.