A Shopping Cart and a Prayer

It was the day before Sukkot, and a young couple in Kiryat Sefer sat together, quietly worrying. They had no money—not even a little—to buy what they needed for the holiday. No food, no diapers, no supplies. Just an empty bank account and a lot of uncertainty.

After a long silence, the wife gently said to her husband, “Go to the store and start shopping. I’ll stay home and say Tehillim (Psalms). Hashem will help us.”

He looked at her, unsure, but something in her calm faith gave him strength. He kissed her goodbye and went.

At the store, he pushed a cart down the aisles, picking up everything his family needed. In his heart, he prayed for something to happen. At the checkout, not knowing how he’d pay, he stalled. He pretended he forgot the diapers and ran to get them. He called his wife.

“Any news?” he asked.

“Not yet,” she said warmly, “but keep going. I’m still saying Tehillim.”

He returned with the diapers, but then "remembered" the tissues. The line behind him grew longer. People were rushing, trying to finish their own holiday shopping.

One man in line began yelling at him. Loudly. For 20 whole minutes.

The young man didn’t respond. He just stood there, holding on.

Then something changed. The angry man suddenly fell silent. His face softened. And then, completely out of the blue, he said, “I’m so sorry. Can I pay for your groceries?”

The young man was stunned. He couldn’t even speak.

Without waiting, the man pulled out his checkbook and wrote a check for 2,500 shekels—enough to cover the entire cart.

The young man’s eyes filled with tears.

The other man saw this and said gently, “I know I was harsh, but didn’t the money help? Why are you crying?”

The young man looked up, voice shaking, and said, “I’m not crying because of what you said. I’m crying because I just saw Hashem with my own eyes.”

He explained everything—how he and his wife had no money, how she had encouraged him to trust and go to the store while she stayed home saying Tehillim, and how he had stalled at the register, waiting and hoping.

The man wasn’t sure whether to believe him—so the young man handed him the phone. “Call my wife.”

The moment she answered, she said, “Keep going, I’m still saying Tehillim.”

The man was quiet for a long time.

Then he turned to the young man with tears in his own eyes. “I’m not just paying for today,” he said. “I want to give you a check like this every month for a year.”

And he did—12 checks in total.

A simple act of faith, a quiet prayer from home, and a shopping cart turned into a beautiful, unforgettable miracle.