Are the homeless to blame? #583
06/05/2019 10:00:25 PM
Author | |
Date Added | |
Automatically create summary | |
Summary |
In 1976, as a rookie reporter for the Ottawa Citizen, I stumbled upon a heartbreaking story which haunts me to this day.
At first glance, it may seem humorous, but upon closer inspection, it is tragic.
One morning, I sat before a Staff Sergeant of the Ottawa Police Department as he thumbed through the evening police reports. After a moment he pulled one from the pile and said, “This one may be of interest.”
The officer recounted the story of a man who, the previous evening, had attempted to rob a 7"Eleven store, but as he approached the counter, he tripped on a vacuum cord, fell on his face, and was captured soon after.
As he languished in the holding cell on the second floor of the police station, he noticed that the metal door had been left slightly ajar. As an act of complete despair, he slipped out of the cell, opened up the second floor window and jumped.
Unfortunately, as he plummeted towards the pavement, he landed on a senior police officer on his way to work, killing the man, while sustaining a broken leg himself.
At first, we both nervously chuckled: this must have been world's worst hard luck story. But then I decided to dig a bit deeper.
As I would later find out, the unsuccessful thief, due to an economic downturn, had recently lost his job, and soon after, his marriage ended. Cut off from his children, he turned to alcohol. His attempts to receive social assistance had proven unsuccessful. His effort to rob the 7"Eleven was an act of total desperation.
I often wondered, in a story that as I recall was relegated to the bottom half of Page 8, whether this man'
Sun, July 6 2025
10 Tammuz 5785
Update this content.
Update this content.
Update this content.
Rabbi's Last 50 E-Sermons
Korach -- The Critic with No Answers #879
Friday, Jun 27 5:00pmEmbracing our "Weirdness" #878
Friday, Jun 20 6:00pmIsrael and Iran - No Time for "Karet" #877
Friday, Jun 13 5:00pmEvery Job is Blessed, Man #876
Friday, Jun 6 5:00pmWhich Tribe Are You? #875
Friday, May 30 5:00pmRe-balancing the rich and poor #874
Friday, May 23 5:00pmTevye: The World Changes, and We With It #873
Friday, May 16 5:00pmThe Food We Waste #872
Friday, May 9 5:00pmDoes Prayer Heal the Sick? #871
Friday, May 2 5:00pmPesach: Things I Love and Hate #870
Friday, Apr 18 5:00pmChametz of the Soul and "the Potato" #869
Friday, Apr 11 5:00pmGod is in the Drudgery #868
Friday, Apr 4 5:05pmJews and HOrns - How Did it Begin? #867
Friday, Mar 14 5:00pmAttack on the Elderly and Disabled #866
Friday, Mar 7 5:00pmBowling Alone #865
Friday, Feb 28 5:00pmHope in a Divided World #864
Friday, Feb 21 5:00pmFrom Whom Did You Learn "Your" Torah? #863
Thursday, Feb 13 10:00amThe Voice of Women #862
Friday, Feb 7 5:00pmNowhere Without our Children and Elders #861
Friday, Jan 31 5:00pmReclaiming our Voice #860
Friday, Jan 24 5:00pmWhat's in Your Hebrew Name? #859
Friday, Jan 17 5:00amVisiting the Sick: Is There a Right Time? #858
Friday, Jan 10 5:00pmDads and their Imperfect Journeys #857
Friday, Jan 3 5:00pmWhat Does "Israel" Really Mean? #856
Friday, Dec 13 5:01pmRunning From OUr Problems #855
Friday, Dec 6 3:00pmThe "R-Rated Torah"#853
Friday, Nov 22 11:39amLeaving God Behind #852
Friday, Nov 15 5:00pmYour Name Means Something #851
Friday, Nov 8 5:00pmDemocracy as a Jewish Practice #850
Friday, Nov 1 5:00pmThe Rabbi and the "Ugly" Man #849
Friday, Oct 25 5:00pmsUKKOT AND THE tENEMENTS #848
Friday, Oct 18 5:00pm"Wedding After the Funeral" #847
Friday, Sep 27 5:37pm"The King is in the Field" #846
Friday, Sep 13 5:00pmJudging Others Too Quickly #845
Friday, Sep 6 5:00pmIs Life a Blessing or a Curse? #844
Friday, Aug 30 5:00pmWhat is in Your Heart? #843
Friday, Aug 23 5:01pmLearning Judaism's 11th Commandment #842
Friday, Aug 16 5:00pmThe Plague of Remaining Silent #841
Friday, Aug 9 5:07pmThe Stories of Our LIves #840
Friday, Aug 2 5:00pmFeminism and the Torah #839
Friday, Jul 26 5:55pmEmails - Are They Private? #838
Friday, Jul 19 4:00pmJews in a Changing World #837
Friday, Jul 12 5:01pm"Are We There Yet?" #836
Friday, Jul 5 5:37pmLessons From a Flip Phone #835
Friday, Jun 28 5:00pmRegrets and Second Chances #834
Monday, Jun 24 4:00pmFrom Gaza to Tel Aviv: Seven Days in Israel #833
Friday, Jun 14 2:42pmRevisiting October 7 #831
Friday, May 31 4:00pmGrudges: Is There an Expiration Date? #830
Friday, May 24 4:48pmCan We Disobey the Torah? #829
Friday, May 17 5:00pmGod Blesses All Work #828
Friday, May 10 5:00pmUpdate this content.
CONGREGATION TIFERETH ISRAEL
40 Hill Street & Landing Road
Glen Cove, NY 11542
OFFICE@CTIONLINE.ORG | (516) 676-5080 | Fax: (516) 759-1905
Privacy Settings | Privacy Policy | Member Terms
©2025 All rights reserved. Find out more about ShulCloud