The Man Who Turned Down a Safe, Clean Profit of NIS 300,000

Rabbi Michael Strud, an expert in locating land and heirs, came across a deal that was supposed to generate a huge profit of NIS 300,000. But then, to his alarm, he discovered that most of the inheritance was intended for missionary organizations. He turned to the Yad L’Achim organization, which checked carefully and found that the inheritance beneficiaries were dangerous sects that lead Jews away from their faith. "As far as I am concerned, the case is closed," he said. "The full story."

"I understood that all my dreams and imaginings about what to do with the large commission, what to renovate and whom to help, came to nothing" (Photo: PR)

Not every day does a person give up on a lucrative deal that provides a safe, clean profit of hundreds of thousands of shekels. Such is the moving and unusual story of Rabbi Michael Strud, who made the decision with full conviction and was not at ease until he asked to publish the full story publicly, in order to offer a moral lesson and a living, shining example to anyone who may face such a test.

Rabbi Michael Strud is a Jew who works in locating land that has no claimant and no awareness. In most cases these are plots purchased decades ago, and he, with his keen instincts and the skill he has developed, looks for their legal heirs, notifies them of the existence of the asset, and works on their behalf to transfer it to them, ultimately receiving a percentage as an official commission.

"This is not easy work," says Rabbi Michael. "It requires a great investment of time, creativity and, of course, siyata d'shmaya."

He explains: "You may work on a case for a long time, build one layer on top of another, and then get stuck for many different reasons, such as an inability to prove identity, multiple heirs, and more. In such cases, all the work you invested, time, sweat and resources, goes to waste. Often the heirs can also tell you, with complete indifference, from their seats in Manhattan or Australia: We know about the property, but we do not want to deal with it. Goodbye and good riddance, and make sure you do not call again."

The case Rabbi Michael managed to get his hands on was interesting and easy to prove. He had clear identifying details of the deceased. All he had to do was locate what he calls the chain of inheritance, in order to know for certain who the final heir would be, the one to whom the sum would go after the asset was realized.

"I located all the stages in the inheritance, after first having to reach people in Europe who had taken part in the inheritance, and that is how I advanced another step. According to a clear calculation I made, my commission was supposed to amount to a net sum of NIS 300,000."

To put the figure into perspective, Rabbi Michael explains: "These are the accepted rules of the game in this field. The commission percentages are received only from what you manage to bring to the client, and only after he himself receives the inheritance into his pocket. This is a long and winding story, and it is hard to predict in advance when and how it will end, and the commission is accordingly high."

This time, he says again, the process was supposed to be relatively easy: "Aside from the fact that there are not many people involved, the asset was not mentioned in the deceased's official will. I was the one who was supposed to tell them about their rights, and they needed me and my knowledge in order to move forward in the process."

The first red light came on relatively early. "I did not approach this case with a light heart," Rabbi Michael reveals. "Right from the start I discovered that a missionary figure, who was not a family member of the deceased, had been involved in the initial inheritance process. At first I postponed handling it out of fear that the inheritance destination was missionary. Then, after some time, I said to myself, at least I will try and see whether the final destination really is missionary hands."

Careful work led to all the stages. The heirs, it turned out, were private individuals. The owner of the property left it to D. D's will instructed that all her wealth and assets be left to S.

"I located S's will, and then I understood that all my dreams and imaginings about what to do with the large commission, what to renovate and whom to help, came to nothing. The final destination of most of the money was bodies connected to missionary sects that work to persuade Jews to convert from their religion, heaven forbid."

According to S's will, after a symbolic amount is distributed to friends and instructions are given on who should receive certain items of property, all the remaining rights are divided among several nonprofits connected to messianic sects, apart from one Israeli Jewish nonprofit. To make sure whether these bodies, which were designated the overwhelming majority of the will, are engaged in preaching and persuading Jews to convert and believe in that man, Rabbi Michael Strud contacted the activist organization Yad L’Achim, which has stood on the front line of the struggle against missionary activity for years.

Yad L’Achim received the names from Rabbi Michael and, after a short time, returned to him with clear, unmistakable information. "It turned out that the situation was more dangerous than I thought," says Rabbi Michael, and immediately explains: "If I thought that one nonprofit was, according to its declaration, engaged in drug rehabilitation, which is a blessed activity that would lead fewer Jews to suffer from terrible addiction, I was informed that their path to rehabilitation includes explicit missionary preaching, combined with idolatry. Assistance to those in need, the stated purpose of another nonprofit among the direct beneficiaries of the will, also involved a clear combination of preaching their false faith and leading Jews away from their religion."

Another destination of the inheritance in question was the social club of a certain retirement home. Yad L’Achim checked and found that the retirement home is intended for a non-Jewish population, but elderly Jews regularly come to its club, where they are exposed to Christian symbols and active missionary preaching.

The verified and documented information that Yad L’Achim presented to Rabbi Michael Strud left no doubt. "For me," he said this week, "the case is buried. I am a son of the Jewish people and I will not fall. I will not fail, and I will not lend a hand or provide assistance to strengthening the power of that sect, which unfortunately still exists in the country. It is likely that one of my ancestors sacrificed his comfort, his peace and perhaps even his life on the altar of faith and Jewish loyalty, the only loyalty that has existed since the beginning of time and will continue to exist until the coming of the righteous redeemer, and I will not damage it."

Yad L’Achim confirmed the details of the remarkable case, praised Rabbi Michael Strud for resisting the financial temptation, and clarified: "About him and those like him, it is said, whoever comes to purify himself is assisted. It is a great merit for him that he did not lend his hand to striking the root that bears gall and wormwood for missionary activity and its destructive offshoots, which threaten to destroy every good part of our people. And may Heaven surely make up for what he lacked, with abundance in every possible way."