For the week ending 17 January 2004 / 23 Tevet 5764
A Golden Gift
A holocaust survivor recently passed away in the Israeli coastal city of Netanya. During their condolence visit to his surviving son in Jerusalem the comforters heard a fascinating story which expressed the inextinguishable spirit of survival and faith of the Jewish People.
In a safe in the home of this Jew was a bar of gold around which was wrapped a note with the following explanation:
"Upon arriving in Eretz Yisrael after the destruction of European Jewry I wished to express my gratitude to Heaven. I therefore used the first money I earned in the Holy Land to purchase this bar of gold which I have dedicated as a gift to the Beit Hamikdash which I hope to see rebuilt in my days."