World According to Zephaniah

David was an innocent man

by: David Zephaniah

Since he remembers himself David believed in the goodness that there is in the world. His mother and father taught him to be honest. Even the wrong thought made him blush. He grew up in a very conservative Georgian (In Europe) Jewish family.

He was talented and thirsty for information. He has read many books on a variety of subjects, such as science and electronics, physics, psychology, interesting stories and more. He was good at everything 

that he set out to do.

He got married at a young age of 23 because he thought he had found a right woman. At the age of 

24, he was offered a job in the United States for a three-year contract. David hesitated whether to go or not.  His mother was ill and she was very close to him

David does not remember exactly how it happened, but he did travel to the US in 1985. It may have been partly because of his beautiful wife who was enthusiastic about the idea. Perhaps it was his weakness.

Although David knew that his mother was being treated by his father and his brothers', feeling guilty about leaving his mother still exists after such a long time.

As noted above David was an innocent man when he went to America. Americans seemed to him to nice and civilized people.  The new world attracted him like a magnet.

America was very interesting. It was very large, "colorful", and very exciting. David did not come prepared for all that. Too much information and stimuli were flowing to his head every day.

He has met many new people. You can imagine yourselves that after growing up in a small town in Georgia and then in a small city in Israel, David suddenly lived in the New York metropolitan area.

David believed in the goodness of people. He had two basic features that are build-in in every good Jew. He was compassionate and had a fundamental belief in God and humans. These attributes are taught in the family.

Because of those above qualities lot of people were drawn to David. They wanted to know who this brave young man was with a special sparkle in his eyes and tremendous energy. They were also drawn to him because of his honesty and innocence.

Since he was handsome, many girls were attracted to him and wanted to know him and seduce him. David had a very strong character but very soon he discovered that he had a very big weakness for pretty girls.

Several years have passed. Since David was very talented and learned quickly, he began to notice that the Americans did not remain innocent. It took him years to realize that they were all (unfortunately) actors. Some were good and some bad. They no longer had feelings. He knew many people without mercy and without a drop of faith in God and man. These people were "actors" and learned how to pretend.

After taking advantage of his innocence many times, David understood where he lived. For example, in many cases, he was in restaurants with very affluent people. Even so, they almost always invented a story, how not to pay ... People asked him for financial help and never returned money back and even disappeared. He could not find real friends. Those people were all fake. He said to himself, "Maybe I'll get closer to the American Jews. Maybe they'll be better people." Unfortunately, he discovered over time that the Jews in America were not better people.  He observed that they were simply far more sophisticated than the gentiles.

David began to lose faith in a human being. His heart was hardened. He was no longer the same person who had come from Israel.

Years passed very quickly. America almost "swallowed" David. He began to lose faith in people. Because of various temptations and mistakes, he eventually divorced his wife. For years, as a bachelor, he has experienced many adventures and learned many things. He met a lot of people. Since he made a good living he would allow himself a "good" life and toys, such as cars, clothes, etc. He was living a promiscuous life.

More years passed and his parents died. David had no reason to come to Israel very often and he began to live a more promiscuous life, just like the gentiles he lived with.

He spent time with different women. He went into gambling. Despite all the declines he still had the two main qualities that every good Jew has. He had a compassionate heart and had some faith in God and man. All this comes from education at home. That was what made him different from ordinary Americans.

Despite these qualities, his decline continued. He would spend money without appreciation ... He lost many business opportunities that came by. He stopped thinking about his future. He thought the money would never stop flowing.

He now believes that God never lost His faith in him and therefore threw a lifeline to him in the form of a beautiful and naive girl he met in 2004. She is his current wife. Together they were almost lost and swallowed up in America but at the last minute they were saved. Together, they found a way to get out of the American rat race.

Today they live in Israel and have a charming son. Life in Israel versus the US is very difficult, but David thanks the Lord for the lifeline. He believes that he and his wife saved each other from complete oblivion.

David still believes that great future awaits them.