He Chose Shabbat Over Money: Then Came an Unbelievable Phone Call

"I became religious because of Rabbi Uri Zohar zt"l, even though I never met him," Shay began his remarkable story.

"At the time, I had started listening to Torah classes and slowly became convinced that I needed to change my life. The problem was that I didn't know where to begin."

For Shay, the greatest challenge was keeping Shabbat.

"I work as a taxi driver, and giving up Shabbat was an enormous test. A taxi driver can earn a decent living during the week, but Shabbat is by far the most profitable day. If I earned around 1,000 shekels on a regular day, I could usually make twice that on Shabbat."

Two Lessons From Rabbi Uri Zohar

One day, Shay came across an old interview with Rabbi Uri Zohar in which the legendary actor turned Torah scholar described the early days of his own journey back to Judaism.

"Two things he said stayed with me," Shay recalled.

"First, the interviewer asked him about wearing a kippah. Rabbi Uri answered that putting on the kippah had been one of the hardest mitzvot because it forced him to overcome the fear of what other people would think."

"The second thing that touched me was when he described how he simply started talking directly to Hashem. He would say, 'Look, we just met, and this is difficult for me. Please help me here. Help me there.'"

Shay decided to follow that example.

"I'm Not Working on Shabbat Anymore"

"I went to the taxi station and told the dispatcher that I was no longer going to work on Shabbat."

The reaction was immediate.

"He couldn't believe what he was hearing. He told me I wasn't thinking straight, reminded me that Shabbat was the most profitable day of the week, and said I was making a huge mistake. The other drivers standing nearby just laughed."

But Shay remained firm.

"I told him, 'I believe in Hashem, and I'm certain I won't lose anything by keeping Shabbat.'"

A Simple Prayer

After leaving the station, Shay did exactly what Rabbi Uri Zohar had described.

"I started talking to Hashem."

"I asked Him that I shouldn't lose money because of keeping Shabbat. I also asked that everyone at the station should see for themselves that a person never loses by honoring Shabbat."

An Extraordinary Turn of Events

Shay vividly remembers the date.

"It was Thursday, the 2nd of Sivan, May 13, 2021."

The following day, during Operation Guardian of the Walls, rockets forced the temporary closure of Ben Gurion Airport.

An American Jew urgently needed to reach Israel before Shabbat and the upcoming holiday of Shavuot. His flight was rerouted to Ramon Airport, but because of possible delays, he was concerned that anyone driving from Eilat might become stranded and be forced to desecrate Shabbat on the return trip.

"He wasn't willing to take a local taxi," Shay explained. "He didn't want a driver to end up violating Shabbat because of him."

Instead, the traveler contacted a taxi company looking for a driver willing to travel from Jerusalem to Ramon Airport before Shabbat.

"He offered to pay 3,000 shekels," Shay said. "But he had one condition. The driver had to be Shabbat observant, so that, chas v'shalom, no Shabbat desecration would result because of him."

"There Is a Hashem!"

The request reached Shay's taxi station.

"The dispatcher called me immediately," Shay recalled with a smile.

"He shouted into the phone, 'There is a Hashem!'"

For Shay, however, the greatest miracle was not the generous fare itself.

"The real lesson was discovering that this is how you can speak to Hashem."

"My prayer was answered exactly as I had asked. I didn't lose money because of keeping Shabbat, and everyone at the station saw it happen with their own eyes."

Shay says the experience also strengthened the faith of several other drivers who witnessed the remarkable chain of events.

"That," he concluded, "was the greatest gift of all."