Secret Service

He raises funds for Jews in dire straits anywhere in the world, helps move incarcerated individuals out of backwater third-world prisons, and even does what it takes to get a bochur into yeshivah. But you won’t be reading about Hershel Gottdiener on any blog or frum website — because he makes sure all those good deeds remain under the radar

Hershel has plenty of friends, to be sure, although you might not have heard of him unless you happen to be his neighbor in Monsey, or if you’ve been on the receiving end of his unconditional chesed and largesse. That’s because Hershel’s good deeds are mostly under the radar, and they involve things like bailing Jews out of third-world prisons and secretly helping impoverished families hold onto their homes or marry off their children.

“Hershel has the craziest stories,” I was told. “See how much you can get out of him, how much he’s willing to share.”

Hershel didn’t disappoint, although he did seem disconcerted by the presence of the photographer. “We’re taking pictures?” he asks incredulously when we meet in his Monsey home. “Why pictures?” When I explain that this is protocol, he shrugs. “Okay. But this is not about me, it’s about inspiring others to do chesed. Whatever it takes to accomplish that, we’ll do it.”

Hershel, 43, grew up in Boro Park, the oldest of ten children, in what he describes as “a house full of chesed. Whenever my father saw someone who seemed down and out, he would approach him and see what he could do to help. If finances were the issue, my father would jump up and start collecting money for him.”