A customer returns money found in a book purchased - original owner located !

A few days ago, a customer, Suzanne Leed of Ashdown, left a message on the store answering machine stating that she found cash in a book she purchased and would like to return it. Within a few days, an envelope with a card enclosed appeared in my mailbox, with a check made out to $400.

The book purchased was The Hasidic Community of Williamsburg, by Solomom Poll. The problem was, that there was no name written in the book and trying to figure out where I got the book from was not too easy. I have had numerous copies of the book in the last few years, and finding the rightful owner took a bit of detective work.

The fine woman, Mrs Suzanne Leed of Ashdown, Arkansas who found the money in the book, also found within the book a letter in Yiddish, a fundraising appeal, which she sent back to me as well. Below is the letter, which is a fundraising appeal by Rabbi J. Friedlander, the Liske Rav, addressed to a Howard J. Berger.

Looking back through my calendar, I found a Yehuda Berger, whose library I had purchased in August. A brief phone call clarified all the details, Howard Berger was the father of this Yehuda Berger and the money was indeed his!

Kudos to Mrs Leed for returning the money and showing us the good side of humanity, which often gets forgotten in the news of today.