For the Shabbat after Lag Ba’omer, the Yeshiva went to Hadera for a shabbaton. It was a chance for the boys and the Rabbi’s to get away from the city and enjoy the beautiful, pastoral landscapes of this quiet town. A bus with seventy boys, and another bus for the Rabbi’s and their families, left Har Nof on Thursday afternoon and headed up north. Avi Bendayan, one of our first year boys, had some things to take care of on Thursday and planned to take a bus on Friday to meet up with the Yeshiva. Unfortunately, he made a small mistake. He had been told the exact address of the lodgings, “44 Hatzilon street” but did not realize that there were TWO such locations in Israel; one in Hadera (where the Yeshiva was staying) and one in a small Moshav near Netanya, 44 miles away, called Bnei Ram. Looking at the on-line bus schedule, he typed in the location in Bnei ram instead of in Hadera and was informed that the last bus was scheduled to leave in twenty minutes! He quickly showered, packed his stuff and made it to “Tachana Hamerkazit” (central bus station) with not a minute to spare. He jumped on the bus and breathed a sigh of relief, only to realize that, in his haste, he’d forgotten his wallet, money, credit card and bus pass in Yeshiva. He tried to arrange for someone to “Venmo” his bus pass and was shocked when the bus driver informed him that he need not worry, someone, a random stranger, had already payed his ticket. After the long bus ride, he disembarked and started the twenty-minute trek to “Hatzilon Street”. On the way, he stopped at a gas station to pick up something to eat and drink, as he hadn’t eaten all day. There was a record heatwave, 107 degrees, and he needed to drink something. He attempted to pay with his credit card number (as the card itself was left in Yeshiva) but the attendant could not get it to go through. “It’s okay” she told him “you look really thirsty and it’s not so much money, so just take it on the house!” Amazed at the two great acts of chessed that he’d been privy to, Avi kept thanking Hashem for watching out for him. Little did he know that Hashem had more chessed in store for him! He arrived at the Moshav and entered the gate, heading for Hatzilon Street. He reached the purported location and found the correct t number, but it was a small, family house, definitely not big enough to host an entire Yeshiva shabbaton. He asked someone if there was, perhaps, in the Moshav, somewhere big enough for two bus loads of people. The man of the house, Mr. Yechiel, a religious Yemenite man, drove him around the Moshav, searching for busses and asking the local guest house owners if they had any such visitors. Not surprisingly, they all said “no”. Avi then received a text from David Stern asking for his whereabouts. It finally became clear that with twenty minutes left to Shabbat, Avi was 44 miles away from the correct Hatzilon Street. Mr. Yechiel, realizing his predicament, graciously opened his home for Avi and hosted him for a wonderful Shabbat as a part of the family. For Avi, it was a beautiful Shabbat that he will never forget. The Taste of the familial warmth and Yemenite food still lingers in his mouth, but the taste of the people of Israel’s chessed and benevolence will linger in his heart forever.