Community Magazine August 2016

26 COMMUNITY MAGAZINE W hen he did make his money in the importing business, it was always with the intention of giving it back to those less fortunate. Ralph Tawil lived his life with this purity of heart and with a sensitivity that came from having once been at the depths of despair. His empathy was one of kinship and his sense of purpose knew no bounds when he set out to help others. How lucky we are that he pulled himself up and became a self-made man, answering to no one except Hashem. How thankful we are that he supported our traditions, our hachamim , our yeshivot and our poor for so many years. “Everyone knows Poppy as a champion of tzedakah ,” said his grandson, Ralph Tawil at the one-week arayat , “but many people don’t know how this came to be.” At the age of 11, Ralph, or Poppy as everyone called him, lost his mother. Unable to take care of him, his father put him and his siblings in the Brooklyn Hebrew Orphanage. Oh, how Poppy wanted out of that orphanage! Nearly every day, he would rail against his situation, trying to jump the wall, ride the train, do anything to escape his confines. But alas, that orphanage and the foster homes that followed would be his fate for most of his childhood. He lived off scraps of food and hungered for the generosity of others. He was completely dependent on human kindness – and he never forgot how important this compassion was to his – or anyone’s - survival. Poppy did see his father on Shabbat and managed to absorb two important ideals from him – to hold fast to his faith and to save his money even as everyone else was spending it. This last precept would be important, for, by the age of 13, Ralph’s father would pass away, leaving him penniless. “Poppy didn’t think of his desolate upbringing as a handicap, or a sign that his life should be a failure,” said his grandson, Ralph Sitt, at the funeral. “He never stopped fighting.” As a young boy, Poppy struck out on his own, peddling ties. Once, he walked into a bar and offered his wares to a drunkard. For no explicable reason, the man took one look at him and punched him, hard. Poppy crumpled to the floor and stayed on the ground for a good while. While down there, he contemplated how he’d arrived – by asking another person for money. He vowed in that moment that he would never again put himself in that position, the position of someone down on his luck and at the mercy of others. He would become self-sufficient and he would give readily to the needy but he most certainly would not be a beneficiary. The Large-Hearted Generosity of Ralph S. Tawil, A’’H Lev Tov: As Jews, we are commanded to show extra sensitivity to orphans – to shelter them, to feed them and to share in their pain and suffering. What makes Ralph Tawil’s story so remarkable is that he was an orphan, who rose to great heights while never forgetting his beginnings. KELLY JEMAL MASSRY