About a block and a half away from my house I suddenly slipped and fell. Maybe it was the position I was in, or perhaps it was due to the fact that I’m no youngster and not of slim build, but somehow I couldn’t manage to pick myself up off the ground. It also didn’t help that there was nothing on either side of me close enough to grasp for support.
As I looked around helplessly for someone to give me a hand, I was relieved to see clusters of men apparently coming home from shul after davening. But instead of stopping to see if I was okay or needed help, they all walked right by me as if I was invisible to them!
Thank G-d it wasn’t long before a lone black-hatted bochur stopped to help me and even offered to see me home to make sure I made it safely to my door. I was enormously grateful to him and just want to say that this young man was in my eyes more honorable than any of the “mature” men who found it beneath their station to offer help to a woman.
Disappointed in Mankind
Dear Disappointed,
The young man who came to your aid without hesitation knew it was the right thing to do, whereas the men who chose to pay you no heed were either ignoramuses or knew better but were callously unwilling to be caught in an act others might have disapproved of.
Shomer negiah (the prohibition of physical contact between a man and a woman) does not apply in a case of pikuach nefesh. Moreover, a male who does not come to the aid of a female in a circumstance such as yours is considered to be a pious fool (chassid shoteh).