The Story of Menachem

A beautiful friendship, with Hebrew lessons and exciting stories about Mitchell Raff’s life.

By Liora

Around July 2015, a guy named Mitchell called me and said he wanted to learn Hebrew.

He asked how much I paid for the lesson, and I said $100 an hour. He wondered how much it was for two hours, and I said $200. Later, he will say that it made him laugh.

He arrived on August 6, 2015. He's a nice guy in his mid-fifties. We started chatting, and suddenly, the guy spoke in Hebrew! I was surprised and asked why I wanted to learn Hebrew. He said that even though he was in Israel in the army, it was difficult for him to read and even more challenging to write.

I don't remember exactly when I told him he should write a book because he has a fascinating life story. He grinned and said he didn't remember how often he had heard this sentence. I told him that his story was unique, and if he didn't want to write it for himself, he should write it and dedicate it to his son, who was in prison at the time.

This sentence must have awakened some emotion in him.

The book is excellently written. It is not dull, engaging, and full of events in Menachem's exciting life.

In conclusion, I forgot to mention that Menachem wrote a dedication to me in the book he gave me. Initially, he writes that this book would not have been written if it weren't for Liora.

"If not Liora, then who?"

He wrote this saying by Rabbi Hillel. Which I taught Menachem, who said, "If I am not for myself, who will be for me? And if I am only for myself, what am I? And if not now, when?" Menachem was very attached to this sentence and uses it today.