Daniel Kravitz, the owner of a secondhand furniture shop in Denver, was taken aback by the customer who entered his store. The young man was dressed like a hoodlum, with a shaved head and bare arms covered with tattoos including the venomous message, “Kill Jews!” It was clear that he was a neo-Nazi.
Daniel was relieved that his kippah was concealed beneath a cap.
He spent the next hour assisting his customer. He took the man on a tour of the shop, helped him select a decent array of furniture, granted him a generous discount, and then helped the young neo-Nazi load his purchases into a pickup truck.
After looking the man over carefully to make sure he wasn't carrying any weapons, Daniel cautiously said, “Tell me, do you really feel what all those tattoos say?”
“You bet I do,” the man replied.
“Have you ever hurt anyone?” Daniel pressed.
“Yep!”
Daniel paused, then asked, “What do you have against the Jews?”
Are you aware that you have just spent an hour with a Jew? Haven’t I been honest, kind, and generous this whole time?
“They are thieves and liars!” The customer launched into a tirade, spewing out every imaginable anti-Semitic stereotype.
Daniel patiently listened until the man finished speaking. Then he removed his cap to reveal his kippah and said, “Are you aware that you have just spent an hour with a Jew? Haven’t I been honest, kind, and generous this whole time?”
The neo-Nazi gaped in disbelief. “No way! You can't be a Jew, man!”
Daniel motioned to the mezuzah on the door and then showed him a siddur (prayer book) on his desk. “You can see very clearly that I am Jewish, and I’m not at all like the image you have of Jews. You have been brainwashed. I can’t believe that your parents raised you with this kind of hate. You must be estranged from them,” Daniel surmised.
The neo-Nazi grimly confirmed his suspicions; he hadn’t spoken to his parents in ten years. Just then another costumer came in and Daniel wished the neo-Nazi a good day and turned to assist the other customer.
Daniel Kravitz in his store, Home Again Furniture
Six months later, the man returned to the store, this time with a full head of hair, decent clothes and long sleeves to conceal his tattoos. To Daniel’s surprise, the man embraced him warmly.
“I need to apologize to you and thank you,” he said tearfully. “You made me reassess everything I had believed. Thanks to you, I now know what a Jew is, and I’ve decided to turn my life around. I’ve even reconnected with my parents.”
Don't underestimate the amount of light one act can bring to the world.
This story was shared by Daniel Kravitz to Rabbi Shraga Freedman author of Living Kiddush Hashem and sefer Mekadshei Shemecha. Please email mifalkiddushhashem@gmail.com for a free download of sefer Mekadshei Shemecha and other resources.
(25) avi geffner, August 25, 2020 7:40 PM
beutiful! daniel kravitz is a walking kiddush hashem
(24) bill price, December 26, 2017 11:01 AM
silly lady...
didn't you know that we mormons are the ones with the horns? bless you, and israel, and her people.
(23) Anonymous, December 25, 2017 10:53 PM
lovely story
Lovely story.. And the store owner seemed to handle a difficult situation just right. He should be proud of himself
(22) Bracha Goetz, June 13, 2017 9:52 PM
WOW!
We want to read Part II!
(21) shilvib puri, January 9, 2017 4:48 AM
MOVING, REALLY REALLY MOVING !!!!!!!
MOVING !!!!!!! REALLY REALLY MOVING !!!!!!!
(20) JAY, January 4, 2017 8:53 PM
Wonderful, GREAT STORY
THANK YOU FOR STANDING TALL AND MAKING A DIFFERENCE IN A YOUNG MANS LIFE, AND OTHERS
(19) Louis, January 4, 2017 4:54 PM
My respects to You Herr Kravitz
L'shanah tovah tikateyvu v'tichatemu.
(18) Anonymous, January 3, 2017 4:11 PM
G. Bless You!
Thank you for living our faith. Blessings to you.
(17) Anna, January 3, 2017 7:03 AM
I once sawa man on Oprah who spends his life combatting hate sites and such things. He was once a hater of anyone who wasn't a WASP (if he'd known this term) and among other things, pushed a Jewish boy through a window, badly injuring him. Some years later, he was at a bus stop and a young man who saw him uncovered his neck so that the thug could see the scars...it was, of course, the Jewish boy. who had recognised him. The bigoted, tough thug broke down in tears and asked for forgiveness, which was given...and was a changed man from then on.
There was a case of forgiveness here in New Zealand that changed a life. A young man killed another in a fight-it was not deliberate, and he did time for manslaughter. The other young man's family visited him in prison, forgave him and befriended him when he came out. The victim's uncle and his family took him to live with them (it would have been too much, I imagine, for the parents to do this) and the man is now a Mormon clergyman (bishop ?) Not the religion one would choose, but what a change from the lifestyle he had been leading. He became a decent and respectable citizen and family man-because those people forgave him.
(16) jim, January 3, 2017 6:30 AM
neonazi
haven't met any per se, i have met christian fanatics who have been taught to acknowledge the jew but only to offer salvation, these actually dislike the jew and judaism because such is a threat to their belief and investment!
(15) R, January 3, 2017 2:18 AM
So brave!
That must've taken tremendous courage to speak up
(14) ARLEEN MILLER, January 3, 2017 12:14 AM
i was so blessed by this story thank you for sharing .their are people who will be opened to the lies they were told thank you God for opening that young mans eyes and restoring his family
(13) Sara, January 2, 2017 9:59 PM
Beautiful!
What a nice kiddush Hashem! Very impressed! We should all learn from you how to behave!
(12) Dennis Bevers, January 2, 2017 3:02 PM
This message needs to go viral.
I don't know why I have never seen this before. It needs to be posted on FaceBook, which I will do. With all the violence and hatred so common in the US and elsewhere, positive messages need to become headline Torres - But good news rarely sells newspapers and magazines.
(11) Brian, January 2, 2017 3:00 PM
people are people wherever you go!
people are people wherever you go!
(10) MESA, January 2, 2017 2:48 PM
Such a potent reminder of the importance of being careful with our speech and our actions. You never know when you might make a Kiddush Hashem. Thank you.
(9) Zal, January 2, 2017 5:01 AM
u never know
i know personally three ex-punks/neo nazis who found out they were jewish?
(8) Anonymous, January 2, 2017 12:42 AM
Good analysis
Me. Saltzberg comment is on the mark. As a practicing psychlogist I have seen many similar instances.
(7) Rena, January 2, 2017 12:36 AM
Beautiful story
What a beautiful story of the power of love and kindness to erase years of hatred and misunderstanding.
(6) Dvora, January 2, 2017 12:23 AM
Mr. Kravitz
There are 3 kinds of anti-Semites. Mr. Kravitz met the first type. Teachable, educable a neo-Nazi with a conscience. The 2nd type is virulent, violent, no conscience. Psychopath/sociopath. Their anti-Semitism comes from frontal lobe brain deformity. Incurable, unteachable delusional. The 3rd type of anti-Semite is a Jew who would sell you land where you will be murdered so he can use the death, butchery to make money even fund raising off the flesh of his/her murdered Jewish brother/sister. A reprobate. I am glad Mr. Kravitz met the first kind. God bless you Mr. Kravitz.
(5) Miriam, January 1, 2017 9:15 PM
Amazing!
Don't underestimate the power of acts of lovingkindness.
Shine on!
(4) Anonymous, January 1, 2017 8:08 PM
God still works even on evil people
I am not Jewish but I stand with all Jews in America and Israel. I can only hope and pray that this New Year will bring about positive changes in the world towards the Jewish people and their homeland. This land has belong to you for centuries and we can only hope 2017 will reverse the damage the UN has caused along with our out going president. In addition may many more Neo-Nazi find in their hearts what this young man has been shown by Daniel Karvitz.
(3) Anonymous, January 1, 2017 7:01 PM
This story is from the book The Unexpected Road where this story is written more comprehensively
(2) Gene Saltzberg, January 1, 2017 6:31 PM
Tolerance
This worked because 1)Daniel overcame his own potential prejudice 2) The neo nazi was, in reality, an open minded person obviously being influenced by a peer group wrongly chosen!! We need more of both!!
(1) Tova Saul, January 1, 2017 4:34 PM
Love this story
We need to be aware how big of an impression our simplest acts of kindness have on others' perceptions of Jews.