After being asked for help on Shabbat by an unsuspecting neighbor, when and how should a hidden observant Jew come out about it?
Q. My question I live among non-Jews, who don’t know I’m Jewish. I was keeping Shabbat when someone asked me to lift a weight and help. I told him I’m injured and sick, which wasn’t true. Did I do the right thing by refusing him?
If they are your neighbors or acquaintences, sooner or later they will find out that you are an observant Jew, and it’s best as soon as possible. Experience has proven that although occasional anti-Semites may give you problems, most gentiles will truly respect you that much more for standing up proudly for what you believe in. On the other hand, if they are total strangers, or if you feel that in a certain situation it could cause animosity, it would have been better not to lie but to let them mislead themselves, e.g. hold your back as you say “I’m sorry that I can’t lift things”, or the like.
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