In a moving gesture that was caught on video and has now become viral on social media, a rabbi gave his shoes to a barefooted homeless man whom he saw on a subway in New York.
Rabbi Gavriel Benayon, who is an emissary of the Chabad Hassidic movement in Panama City, was in the big apple for a convention of rabbis.
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Rabbi Gavriel Benayon hands his shoes to a barefooted homeless man on the NY subway on
After taking time off for shopping he boarded a subway train where he saw a homeless man without shoes suffering from the cold. Benayon quickly took his own shoes off and walked over to the man and asked if he would agree to take the fottwear.
The grateful homeless passenger quickly put the pair on his feet and seemed very pleased prompting some on the train to clap. Before leaving the train he said "I have a new look".
Chabad rabbi hands his shoes to a barefooted homeless man
Fellow travelers captured the moving gesture on video which was posted by the rabbi on his Facebook page.
Rabbi Benayon said he had just purchased himself a new pair of sneakers. "When I saw the barefooted homeless man I though why I could buy a new pair of shoes while this man has no pair at all?"