Sadie Cohen lived in a diverse neighborhood on Long Island.
Her neighbor was a very generous black woman who stopped in one Saturday and asked, “Mrs. Cohen, I have to go into the city this afternoon to meet my daughter; can I get you anything?”
Mrs. Cohen thanked her and exclaimed, “Listen, I have a commuter ticket for the train that I don’t use on Saturday.
Why don’t you use my ticket and you’ll bring it back tonight. After all, it’s all paid for – why should you pay extra.”
The neighbor thanked her, and later got on the train. As the conductor came through the train, he happened to glance at the ticket and noticed the name “Sadie Cohen”.
“Excuse me madam, are you Sadie Cohen, the person whose name appears on this ticket?”
The woman smiled sweetly and shook her head affirmatively. A little suspicious, the conductor asked, “Would you let me compare signatures – would you please sign your name?”
The black lady turned indignantly and snapped, “Man, you crazy? You want me to write on Shabbos?”