The Man and the Hag(g)adah: A Journey with the Most Captivating Driver in Bnei Brak

Hanoch Greinowitz. Not many know this name, but nearly everyone knows this driver. To know Hanoch, you don't need to be a regular on public transport or even a one-time passenger. Just being a pedestrian or a private car driver, you can't miss Hanoch as he passes by with the bus he drives, his face plastered with a wide smile from one end of the bus to the other.

Hanoch Greinowitz (54) is a father of four and a grandfather to eleven grandchildren, *bli ayin hara*, may they increase. He belongs to the Ger Hasidic sect. Professionally, he's been a bus driver for 32 years, but as you'll understand from the article, that's just his secondary profession. Hanoch is a likable and intriguing person, initially thinking he was just a bus driver, but later realized that he is also a bus driver, and not only.

Photo: Hanoch Greinowitz

I Decided I Had to Take a Ride on the Bus.

I waited like everyone else at the stop of line 2 on one of Bnei Brak's streets, but not exactly like everyone else, because everyone knows exactly where they're going, and I'm just planning to get on to see how they do it, with Hanoch.

Initially, I thought to ask Hanoch how he does it, how he made all the people who board the bus to smile, but as soon as I got on, I let go of that question. It was all clear.

Hello Hanoch, I'm Arik. I'm not the regular passenger on line 2, nor any other line, but I'm a regular pedestrian, and sometimes I bump into you at crosswalks, traffic lights, or just in the middle of the road, in case you feel like stopping for a Jew who wants to cross.

Can I know where this patience comes from, Hanoch?

"Thank you, Arik, can I let you in on a secret? It's a fairly known secret, but we don't use it."

We've known each other for just two minutes, and you're already starting with secrets?

"Those kinds of secrets I reveal to everyone," Hanoch tells me, while turning his enormous steering wheel to the right onto Jabotinsky Street.

"Know this: all the things you encounter in life, the experience you'll have from them, begins not with the experience itself but with the decision you've made in your head to experience it. It all starts in the mind, in the mind and only in the mind. Firstly, I wake up in the morning, I say 'Modeh Ani' for the soul Hashem gave me, and I thank for not only my soul but also for the soul of the bus engine that works this morning. Yes, I thank for the bus."

What does it mean to thank for the bus? Being a bus driver isn't easy at all, some would say it's very tough.

"True, it's not an easy job, but there's still a difference if I feel like I'm carrying all the passengers on my back, and then every passenger is a burden, or if it's a reasonable difficulty that exists in every job."

Where do you encounter challenges with passengers?

"Why does that happen, for instance? I'll give you a live example. Where isn't there a challenge? Every stop I make is a challenge, but the peak is when there are eight open baby strollers on the bus, each boarding at its respective starting point, cute kids lying comfortably, indifferent to the noise from all the passengers, and then the first stroller to board needs to get off. What do we do?"

What indeed?

"Well, now you're touching on the point, I don't do anything, I just take a deep breath, a lot of air, wait for all seven strollers in front to disembark the bus, wait until the eighth stroller also gets off, and then until the seven strollers that disembarked return to the bus. During all this waiting time, people around me are letting their complaints fly, not really keeping them inside, or more accurately saying 'exactly not', and of course, the 'sacrifice' in this attraction is the driver, i.e., me, and it happens every day, sometimes several times a day. Believe me, it's not pleasant at all."

Wouldn't you prefer a lighter route? Like from Ramat Gan to Ramat Efal, without too much hassle? Why do you insist on the most challenging line in Bnei Brak, possibly the most challenging in the country, or in the world, besides India and China?

"No, I definitely don't want another line. For example, today I did line 62 from Aluf Sadeh to Reading. Believe me, not a single stroller boarded, and that bored me, I didn't feel the passengers, the mood, the liveliness of the ride, the sweet and pure children of Bnei Brak, everything was too quiet for me."

Photo: Hanoch Greinowitz

I'll Never Forget

But Hanoch, based on all the stories from the residents about the travel experience you give them, it seems you pretty much go with the flow and don't lose your cool.

"You're right, I usually don't lose my cool, but since you've asked, I'll be honest with you, there was one time I did lose my cool, but what it taught me, accompanied me all my life.

"You know, like all professionals, there are better ones, there are less good ones, and there are experts. The same goes for professionals whose job is to be nuisance experts. There are better ones, there are less good ones, and there are experts. You can somehow manage with the first ones, but if you happen to encounter the experts, that's already the start of a story, and it happened to me with a passenger who was the teacher of nuisances. 'Driver, turn off the air conditioner, it's too cold', 'Driver, why isn't the air conditioner cooling?', 'Driver, turn off the radio', 'Driver, turn up the radio', 'Driver, go slow', 'Driver, why are you braking?', Driver... Driver... Driver... And I, the little driver, have to absorb all these demands and endure. It's not easy for me, and indeed unfortunately, I didn't pass the test, I turned to the lady and said to her: 'If you don't stop your verbal journey, I'm stopping the bus.' She was very offended by my response. What did she want, after all? A little air conditioner, a bit of radio, and a ride without brakes, not too much."

But why, after putting her in her place, did it accompany you all your life?

"After this lady got off the bus, one of the female passengers approached me and said: 'Do you see this lady? She competes with Job in her sufferings. This lady is tormented 25 hours a day. You're right, but she's not to blame'.

"I learned from this how much a person needs to judge their fellow favorably, even if you're sure you're right. Because I'm sure of my path, and yet I shouldn't have reacted as I did."

A Scholar Thanks to the Bus

Well, don't let a one-time event overshadow all the kindness you do during your ride. The rumors I've heard say that sometimes you stop between stations three or four times. What makes you want to stop for every passenger, considering it's not exactly at a station?

"The truth is, it used to be a struggle for me. I fought with myself, to stop, not to stop, but one case tipped the scale in favor of the 'yes to stop'.

"One day, a scholar boarded my bus, he looked like a distinguished scholar. He says to me: 'You know, Hanoch, thanks to you I'm a scholar today.' I asked him: 'How is it thanks to me you're a scholar, what, from the Torah lessons you hear on my radio? I'm not Rabbi Yigal Cohen...'

"He replied: 'No, not at all', and thus he tells me: 'I was a yeshiva student, and unfortunately, I couldn't keep the morning schedule. The supervisor tried here, tried there, but all the attempts yielded nothing. The supervisor didn't give up. He made all sorts of worthwhile campaigns, the main thing was for me to keep the schedule, but I couldn't maintain it. The yeshiva staff got fed up with my behavior, and one day they informed me in these words: 'If you're late to yeshiva tomorrow, you have no place with us. You're expelled from the yeshiva.' That was something I couldn't handle. I got up early in the morning to get to yeshiva on time. I went down from home, and I noticed that the bus supposed to get to yeshiva on time had just left. I knew if I couldn't get on the bus, I'd simply be kicked out of the yeshiva. I started running after the bus. I knew the chance was slim, but compared to what I might lose, nothing was slim. I ran and ran, and never imagined there was a driver in the universe who would even notice me. But you apparently look for passengers in all possible mirrors of the bus. You noticed my running, stopped the bus, and waited until I got on. I arrived at yeshiva on time. Now go imagine, if I had been kicked out of the yeshiva, what I would look like today.'

"That's what the scholar told me. Since then, I stop for everyone with a cheerful face. I never know what load people are carrying with them."

After Thirty-two Years in the Same Job, Do You Not Feel Worn Out? The Same Route, the Same Stations, and Almost the Same People.

Hanoch isn't fazed by the question. "You're mistaken, Arik," he tells me. "You think I'm just a bus driver, but that's not true. Do you know how many mitzvot I manage to do every day along the way?" Hanoch suddenly pulls out a stack of flyers. I come closer and discover they're actually flyers from the Hidabroot organization. "Do you see this? If a Jew boards and I feel he needs some awakening this morning, I hand him a Hidabroot flyer. I believe Rabbi Zamer Cohen gives him a nudge there, and until he gets off the bus, he's already back on track."

Photo: Hanoch Greinowitz

What Other Acts of Kindness Do You Do on the Bus?

"Today, in the 'Rav-Kav' era, it's not so successful, but once, in the card era, my passengers knew it was like a grocery store. You could mark, take on credit. There was a scholar who said to me at the beginning of the month: 'Hanoch, I need three monthly passes for my kids, but I don't have money right now. What do I do?' I told him, 'What do I have a notebook for?' I gave him the cards and noted in the notebook. Later in the month, he returned it, and it wasn't just him, it happened with dozens of passengers who didn't have the ability at that moment to pay for the ride."

Did They Always Make Sure to Return It to You?

"Usually everyone returned their debts, but there were a few cases of people who simply had nowhere to return it from. I didn't have the heart to pressure them, so I would cover it with my charity funds set aside for that purpose. But leave the money aside, do you understand the feeling, to reach the end of the day, and know there are some Jews in the world who are okay now, and it's thanks to me? That's a sublime feeling."

But Legally, If an Inspector Boarded the Bus and Demanded the Report of Purchases, Wouldn't That Get You Into Trouble?

"I believe in the words of the Sages: 'Missionaries for a mitzvah are not harmed', and therefore I'm not afraid of anyone, only from the Creator of the Universe."

The Inspectors Joined the Celebration

But Nonetheless, If an Inspector Boards, What Will You Do?

"What do you mean if an inspector boards? An inspector has already boarded several times, and because of that, I was invited to a committee for the Dan Company, where they criticized my strange conduct. The chief inspector asked me: 'How can it be that you receive cards worth 7,000 shekels, and at the end of the day, the revenue stands at 3,000 shekels?'

"I followed my truth. I took out my charity notebook and showed the inspector all the records. 'Do you see, that's David K., owes me 120 shekels. That's Esther with the twin stroller, owes me eighty-five shekels, and that's Ronen, the plumber's son, owes me forty-five shekels.' They were shocked by this idea. They couldn't believe such things existed, and since then I've had full exemption on all sales reports. Not only full exemption, but the chief inspector took out 3,000 shekels, and told me from today - this is for the charity, we also want to be partners."

Hanoch continues to tell me, but this time with a less joyful tone. "All this special charity was once, but unfortunately today with the 'Rav-Kav', my charity was closed. People try to console me, saying: 'Hanoch, you have been our 'Rav-Kav' from back then and always.' It's the rabbi of the bus. These jokes bring a smile to my face, but still don't make me happy."

Your acts of kindness are truly rare, I'm sure Heaven is very pleased with your deeds. You know, Hanoch, in today's world, people demand payment for their actions here and now; they don't have the strength to wait until Gan Eden. I'm not asking if you're among those people, but I do ask - have you ever received any indication from above, hinting that 'Your deeds are desirable'?

"Yes, I always do. But one instance that illustrated this more vividly to me was when my son needed to enter yeshiva. I exerted enormous pressure on the yeshiva to accept my son, we wanted very much for him to be accepted there, we were very anxious from the responses that were delayed in coming. Then one afternoon, the yeshiva supervisor, himself, boarded the bus and told me, 'Rav Hanoch Greinowitz, we have decided to admit your son into the yeshiva.' The excitement was at its peak. I don’t know if from the perspective of the National Road Safety Authority he was allowed to tell me this, but here I am, and for me, it was a sign from Heaven, a good sign."