The other day, someone who isn’t Jewish asked me to define the Yiddish word mentsch. I did the best job I could, explaining that it means someone who is a decent, caring, upright individual.

I know a lot of people who call themselves mentsches, but it’s rare that I see what I consider “mentschlikeit” behavior.

But every now and then, something comes up to remind me that there are some mentsches out there.

Recently, I was at a Judaica shop in town. A friend of mine who lives in a non-Jewish area asked if I could get him a Chanukah cookie cutter set, since I live on the “Jewish side” of town. (By the way, I’m not mentioning this to in any way indicate that I am a mentsch. Believe me, I know better, and my wife can second me on this.)

While I waited in line, there was an elderly Russian lady ahead of me with a thick accent and a radiant smile. “Excuse me,” she said politely to the woman behind the cash register, “I am trying to buy mezuzah for my son. But I don’t know what to get him. Can I get help?”

The woman behind the cash register, in a brusque fashion, replied, “OK, well, do you want a mezuzah case or the actual mezuzah, the parchment?” The Russian woman smiled but did not answer. She obviously didn’t understand the question, presumably because of language barriers as well as never receiving a Jewish education in the former Soviet Union.

The saleswoman sighed, reached beneath the counter and pulled out a mezuzah parchment. “This is what I mean,” she said, sounding quite irritated. “This is what a mezuzah is. Without this, it’s nothing, just a case. Is this what you want?”

The Russian lady hesitated for a moment, smiled at me with embarrassment on her face, and said, “Uh, no, I need the other thing. My son, he not so religious.”

Exasperated, the saleswoman pointed her in the direction of a wall full of mezuzah cases and said, “Look, just go over there and see what’s there. But it doesn’t mean anything without the real mezuzah.” Then, she looked at me and said, “Can I help you?”

Suddenly, a young man with a thick, dark beard and a black hat said to the saleswoman, “Don’t worry about it, I’ll take care of it and pay for it,” meaning the parchment. But the saleswoman couldn’t leave it at that.

“OK,” she said, “but you need to explain to her that that [the case] doesn’t meaning anything without this [the parchment]. They all think these [parchments] are just instructions, and they just throw ‘em away after hanging up the cases.”

The young man smiled at her patiently and said, “Don’t worry, I’ll explain it all to her. That’s what I do for a living.” He then walked over to the Russian lady and said, “Hello, can I help you, please?” The lady beamed and thanked him.

I didn’t get a chance to talk to this man because, frankly, I was in a bit of a rush. But if I had, I would’ve thanked him for being a mentsch in a world where “un-mentschlikeit” behavior seems to dominate.

It’s nice to know that there are still some mentsches out there. We should all try to emulate their behavior from time to time.