You Never Know

i once needed a taxi in israel many years ago i was there it was the middle of the night i finished a lecture my ride didn't show up they ordered me a taxi from tel aviv back to irish lion it was three in the morning i went into the taxi and i was a little afraid because the person wasn't wearing a keeper and he had a darker complexion i didn't know if he's a jew is inherited i didn't know if it was safe it was the time of the intifad i was afraid and then he asked me if i mind if he puts on the things that he listens to i said no put it on i was hoping let me hear what it's going to be maybe he'll be a sheer for me and he puts on a recording of telum somebody a yemeni jew saying the whole tehela in a yemenite accent and sing song i say what's this he says listen unfortunately i can't go to shul i'm not very religious but i want to say to hillam ta'ashem so in my taxi journeys i have this recording somebody says to hillary and i listen to their words i said how many times do you go through the tahilama day and he says four or five there's a jew in the middle of the night driving a taxi you look at him he's completely not connected but he listens to the whole recording of tehillim four or five times a day because you know he goes on long journeys and i felt so humbled you know i walk into the car and i was hesitant who is he am i safe am i not safe it would have been so much more comfortable with me you know if he would have had a beard and peyos and a big yamaka but it just showed me that you never know where you're gonna find the presence of god the presence of truth presence of love you don't know where you find god sometimes you encounter god in prayer and in transcendence and in terrorist study and in meditation and sometimes you encounter god in the face of a stranger in a taxi ride [Music] the yeshiva.net