A Dramatic Social Experiment: Defending a Rebbe's Honor

He stood at the corner with a small table displaying tefillin, offering a young man the opportunity to fulfill the mitzvah.

No one knew that the elderly Chassid inviting the young man to partake in the mitzvah was in fact an actor involved in a social experiment probing how Israeli society reacts to 'harassment' of an elderly Chassid.

"Would you like to put on tefillin?", asked the elderly man kindly. But his query received a response that would unsettle anyone in his situation: "How about you leave because you're bringing us coronavirus and other such things?", the young man exclaimed, amidst a crowd.

"I think it's the best cure", responded the Chassid amiably.

"Is it a cure for corona?", said the young man, laughing and mocking the tefillin stall.

"Yes, it is a cure for corona. Want to know more?", the elderly man inquired.

"No, the cure is for you to leave as you're bringing us all sorts of diseases", continued the young man in his tirade.

And here the story takes an unexpected turn, initiated by another young man:

He simply stopped, stood, and watched the exchange from the sidelines until he could no longer remain silent. He addressed the first young man: "Excuse me, I don't understand why you'd say something like that. You might disagree or not connect, but..."

"But it's true", insisted the first young man to his 'intervenor'.

"No, it's not true", argued the 'intervenor'—who, as you can see, doesn't appear religious.

"What kind of attitude is this?", the 'intervenor' said passionately. "He's an older man. I don’t put on tefillin either, and I'm not a religious person—but there is a way to treat another human being."

At this point, the young actor from 'Jewish Spirit' said, "But he's spreading diseases", prompting the 'intervenor' to lose his calm. "He's not spreading diseases. Everyone here can spread diseases. Don't speak to a person, even if they're religious, in such a manner."

"You're right", conceded the young actor, receiving a particularly angry "Thank you" from the 'intervenor' who stormed off. The young actor then approached him to explain it was a social experiment, dubbing him a 'king'.

Emotional? So were we. But that's not all: Astonishingly, among dozens passing by who overheard the harsh accusations—nearly all defended the Chassid, telling the young man he should be ashamed to talk like that to someone who could be his grandfather.

One young woman even immediately 'suspected' something unusual: "I'm looking for the cameras", she said, glancing around. When asked why, she explained such behavior isn't natural, hardly believing someone would speak that way to an elder.

Now, let's pause and pay attention to this guy on a bike, who rides slowly, suddenly stops by the Chassid, and asks if he can put on tefillin.

With a smile and grace, he gets off the bike and begins wrapping the tefillin—as unpleasant cries are directed at him by the two actors (now joined by a third opposing the Chassid) accusing him of spreading diseases. They approach the man who came willingly and ask, "Why are you putting on tefillin, brother? Why cooperate?"

He responds: "What do you mean? It's our responsibility. That's why we're here, brother. Research it, I don't have time to explain."

When asked what kind of responsibility he's referring to, the righteous young man calmly replies: "Responsibility, that's what I live by." He says the Shema prayer, and upon finishing his tefillin ritual, turns to the 'opposing' young men: "Guys, your hate won't solve anything. I have a lot of opinions too, trust me. But love brings love." He concludes with a warm, loving hug from the Chassid, who dubs him a 'tzadik'.