I have never been one to overly sell the merits of the Jewish way of life. I choose to leave that up to those far more qualified. However, as someone who observes Shabbat, the Jewish Sabbath, I and my fellow Jews occasionally have an advantage during this time that others might not. Since Shabbat starts on Friday at sundown, unlike many who during this unprecedented time find one day after another blending into each other, we always need to know when it’s Friday. With that in mind Holland’s Heroes will do its best to provide you with a weekly post with the intention of inspiring you, encouraging you, and bringing some joy to the many faces looking for reasons to smile.
Today I share with you the story of a real life superhero. Our very own Batman.
A few weeks ago I had a very minor and truly unimportant debate with one of my brothers. The question posed was, who is the best Batman? While he believes it to be Christian Bale, I personally have always been partial to Michael Keaton. Since that conversation however, there is a new Batman in the mix, and his name is Josh Aryeh.
Josh, whose brother is a friend of mine from the neighborhood, is a living example of what is good in this world. Those of you who read my posts know that since the start of the pandemic most of what I have written is positive, supportive and encouraging. We live in tough times, and I have said on numerous occasions that what we need now more than ever is to find ways in which we can help people around us. If we help just one person we are still accomplishing more than getting into a silly verbal spat on social media in which we think we are proving our intelligence and worth. I’ve been encouraged to see how many ordinary people have done good during this time, many of them I look up to in awe of their strength and kindness. But to this day I had not yet come across an actual superhero, until I heard about Josh Aryeh.
It started a number of years ago, when, as an owner of a Lamborghini, Josh was asked if he could give a ride to an 8 year old cancer patient. The young girl, who had been suffering with the disease since the age of 4, had a dream of driving in a Lamborghini. Josh was able to make this young girl’s dream come true, bringing joy to a child who had known little to none in her life. The feeling Josh felt at that time had such a profound impact on him that he knew he wanted to continue to find ways to do good in the years that would follow. He continued his charitable efforts, going above and beyond what most ever do, but it wasn’t till he took it to the next level that he reached superhero status.
After investing into altering his car into a real life Batmobile, Josh put together a group of people with cars of a similar exotic nature, and together with the NYPD and Nassau County Police Department began something truly wonderful. Josh created the charitable organization known as Smiles through Cars. Together with his crew of fellow exotic car and motorcycle enthusiasts, Josh leads the vehicles in a procession past the homes of children whose lives have been impacted through illness or other circumstances that are of no fault of their own. Josh’s actions, together with the special people he’s recruited are bringing immense happiness to these children, cheated out of so much of the joy so many of us take for granted. During a time when we have been kept apart by a highly contagious virus, the need for this has been even greater, and rather than being slowed down by quarantines and guidelines, Josh, excuse me, Batman and his crew have stepped up their efforts to help any way that they can.
I urge you to learn more about this incredible act of kindness by reading the following article, BATMAN SAVES THE DAY VIA THE SMILES THROUGH CARS CHARITY!
There are many decent and good people out there. I’ve seen and personally experienced some of this goodness since the pandemic began. Much of it has truly been inspiring and heartwarming. Josh’s story however, is the stuff legends are made of, and next time someone asks me who I think the best Batman is, I’ll very likely say Josh Aryeh.
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