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The beloved Jerusalem beggar disappeared from the intersection, the residents searched for him on Facebook

Moshe Cohen sold toys and flags to cars in Jerusalem and donated the money to charity.

After residents of the area stopped seeing him at the intersection, they asked about it on the social network to find out what happened to him, and discovered that he had died from corona complications - three weeks after his wife also died for the same reason.

"Smile for every person"

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• Jerusalem

• charity

Yael Friedson

Sunday, 20 June 2021, 14:14

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For years, Moshe Cohen stood at the junction between the Ramat Sharet neighborhood and the Malcha neighborhood of Jerusalem.

He used to sell small toys, domes and flags to those waiting in traffic jams.

Some gave him money for charity.

In recent weeks Rachel Risby Raz has noticed that he has disappeared from the intersection, and yesterday she posted a post on the neighborhood Facebook group asking if anyone knows where he has disappeared to.

The post received hundreds of comments.

"I just asked about him a few days ago," wrote a man exposed to the post, "I would give him money without taking anything. I felt like everyone's grandfather."

Another person stated in the post that he was "looking for him all the time. He's the one who made sure I gave charity all the time. How are you? Did anyone hear?".

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Has stood at the junction that connects the Ramat Sharet neighborhood to the Malcha neighborhood for years.

Moshe Cohen (Photo: Walla !, courtesy of those photographed)

The post also reached Cohen's granddaughters, who informed readers that he died about five months ago, three weeks after his wife died, after 61 years of marriage. The two fell ill in Corona, recovered - but died from the complications of the disease. They left behind seven children and about thirty grandchildren.

"In the name of the family - you moved us very much," Cohen's granddaughter, Reut Yaakovov, responded. She added that "Exactly about four months ago, my grandfather Moshe passed away, the one you would meet while waiting at intersections. Grandfather died of longing for his wife who died three weeks earlier. Your reactions and interest in his well-being moved us to tears. Thank you, you warmed our hearts."

Cohen, a native of Bukhara, immigrated to Israel in 1973, shortly before the Yom Kippur War. He worked for years as an installer of solar water heaters on roofs, and even after he retired he continued to work as a servant at the Dugma Elementary School in Jerusalem.

They died from corona complications after recovering - and died three weeks apart.

Moshe and Esther Cohen (Photo: Walla !, courtesy of those photographed)

Cohen's hobby at the intersection has only taken shape in recent years.

"He did not need money, for God's sake he had a pension, he just wanted to donate money to charity," says his son, Shalom Cohen.

"He was a very vital man, he continued to work even in old age. He enjoyed meeting the people at the intersection, smiling at everyone. After he died many people told us how he helped them. One of the neighbors told how he supported him during a difficult time and told him 'like her name' "Good passes, that's how evil will pass, you will receive everything with love."

When readers of the post heard about his death, they reacted with grief.

"Sometimes I would keep money available, so that if I stopped at a traffic light I could buy something from it. Sometimes a flag, sometimes a game. I always worried him that hours were like that at the intersection, but I also admired it," wrote a Jerusalem resident.

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