It was one of those blazing July afternoons we all know too well on Long Island. The sun was unforgiving. People rushed from stores to cars, faces buried in phones, iced drinks in hand.
On a quiet bench off Main Street, an elderly man sat alone. His shirt was buttoned all the way up, a worn Yankees cap on his head. Beside him sat a plastic bag with a warm bottle of water.
No one stopped.
Until Alina, 18 years old, fresh out of high school, happened to glance his way. Something tugged at her. She walked past; but then she turned around.
“Are you okay, sir?” she asked gently.
He looked up, startled, then slowly began to cry.
“I lost my wife last summer,” he whispered. “We used to sit here every day. You’re the first person who’s spoken to me in weeks.”
She sat beside him. They talked for twenty minutes. She gave him her water and her attention. When she stood to leave, he held her hand and said something she’ll never forget: “Thank you for seeing me. I thought I’d disappeared.”
Simone de Beauvoir once wrote: “One’s life has value so long as one attributes value to the life of others, by means of love, friendship, indignation and compassion.”
That day, Alina gave that man more than water. She gave him back his humanity.
This is what life is truly about.
We spend so much time chasing titles, screens, deadlines. But in the end, what matters is simple: Did we love? Did we lift? Did we see others; and help them feel seen?
Here on Long Island, and in every corner of this country, there are people waiting to be noticed. To be heard. To be reminded they matter. And you – yes, you have the power to be that person.
Be the one who stops. The one who smiles. The one who calls. The one who shows up.
Because kindness is contagious. Compassion is unforgettable. And one moment of human connection can ripple into a thousand more.
Let it start with us. Let it start here. Let it start today.
Share this. Live this. Be the reason someone believes there is still good in the world.
Rabbi Moshe P. Weisblum, PhD
