Bernie is walking down Golders Green Road one cold morning when he hears an almighty crash behind him. He turns around and sees a "Golders Green’s Best Kosher Wines" lorry lying on its side, with broken bottles all around it and wine freely running into the gutter. The driver didn’t seem to be injured, but he was nevertheless weeping openly. A crowd quickly gathers around the incident.
"What’s the matter?" Bernie asks the driver, "Are you hurting somewhere?"
"No, I’m not hurt," replies the driver, "but my boss, Mr Solly, will no doubt blame me for the loss of his wine and deduct its cost from my pay packet."
On hearing this, a man suddenly steps forward and says to the crowd, "Oy vay, did you hear what this poor hard working Jewish guy has just said? He said he’s going to lose a lot of money as a result of this accident. We shouldn’t let this happen. We must all rally around and help him out."
At that, he takes off his hat, puts it on the ground next to the driver and places a £5 note in it. "Nu? What are you all waiting for?" he says to the crowd. "Help this man out. It will be a mitzvah."
Soon, the hat is overflowing with notes and coins. The man then picks up the hat and money, gives it to the driver and smiling, says, "Here, this will help you. Go back to your office and give this to your boss. It will keep him happy." As the man walks away, Bernie says to the driver, "Wow! I must tell The Jewish Chronicle of this incident. What a mensh that man is - have you ever seen him before?"
"Of course," replies the driver. "That’s my boss Mr Solly."
ב"ה