Page 14 - The Jewish Voice - June '20

Page 14, The Jewish Voice

simchas asK the rabbi

Julian Bois We Are All Capable of Nathan was told to put on a glove and go out to play short

Julian Bois was called to God’s Perfection center field.
In the bottom of the eighth inning, Nathan’s team scored
the Torah as a bar mitzvah a few runs but was still behind by three. In the bottom of the
on April 25, 2020, at Temple By Rabbi Leib Ezagui ninth inning, Nathan’s team scored again and now with two
Beth Am. Julian is a seventh Question: Some of outs and the bases loaded with the potential winning run on
grader in theater at Bak the commandments in the base, Nathan was scheduled to be up. Would the team actually
MSOA. For over a decade, Torah dance off the pages let Nathan bat at this juncture and give away their chance to
Temple Beth Am congregants in their sheer moral beauty win the game? Surprisingly, Nathan was given the bat.
and Maltz Jupiter Theatre and some are just hard for Everyone knew that it was all but impossible because
artists have become Julian’s me to understand. A friend Nathan didn’t even know how to hold the bat properly, let
second families. Julian gave birth to a baby with alone hit with it. As Nathan stepped up to the plate, the
volunteered countless hours a rare condition. She is not pitcher moved a few steps to lob the ball in softly so Nathan
entertaining in Florida, expected to live much past should at least be able to make contact.
monthly at Brookdale Senior her 10th birthday. I just can’t The first pitch came in and Nathan swung clumsily and
Living, and in Spain. Julian performed at the Maltz Jupiter understand why G-d does missed. One of Nathan’s teammates came up to Nathan and
Theatre Gala this year honoring fellow congregants. that. If life has a purpose, what is the purpose of such a together they held the bat and faced the pitcher waiting for
Asher Elman short and sad life? the next pitch. The pitcher again took a few steps forward
Answer: Every birth is a gamble. A soul enters the world
to toss the ball softly toward Nathan. As the pitch came in,

innocent and pure. But it may not stay that way. This world Nathan and his teammate swung at the bat and together they
Asher Ludwig Elman is a maze of diverging pathways, both good and evil, and hit a slow ground ball to the pitcher.
was called to the Torah as the choice of which way we go is ours. Once a soul enters The pitcher picked up the soft grounder and could easily
a bar mitzvah on April 18, a body, it is free and therefore vulnerable to corruption. have thrown the ball to the first baseman. Nathan would
2020, at Temple Beth Am. While acts of good elevate the soul, every act of evil makes have been out and that would have ended the game. Instead,
Asher is a seventh grader at a blemish on the soul. the pitcher took the ball and threw it on a high arc to right
Independence Middle school, Some souls are so lofty, it simply isn’t worth the gamble. field, far beyond reach of the first baseman.
where he is in the SciQuest These souls are too precious to risk being compromised Everybody from both teams was screaming: “Run
Academy and a member of by life in a body. They are too high to come down to this to first!” Never in his life had Nathan run to first. He
the Independence basketball world. But the other option, not to be sent down at all, to scampered down the baseline wide-eyed and startled. By
team. Asher enjoys playing never reach this world, would mean that we would miss the time he reached first base, the right fielder had the ball.
flag football, basketball, out on meeting these holy and lofty souls and hearing their He could have thrown the ball to the second baseman who
baseball, and golf. Asher’s message. would tag out Nathan, who was still running. But the right
love of sports led him to his So these souls do come down. But in order to be fielder understood what the pitcher’s intentions were, so he
mitzvah project. Asher chose to raise money for and donate to protected from the potential evils of an earthly existence, threw the ball high and far over the third baseman’s head.
the JTAA organization, which supports community athletics. they are sent down into a body that will not compromise Everyone yelled, “Run to second, run to second.” Nathan
Asher has been playing sports through JTAA since he was their holiness. They enter this world in a form that is above ran to second base as the runners ahead of him deliriously
five years old. In his free time, Asher enjoys watching and sin, above evil. From a purely physical perspective we call circled the bases toward home. As Nathan reached second
playing sports with friends. them “disabled” or “handicapped”; from the perspective base, the opposing short stop ran to him, turned him in
of the soul they are protected. They will never sin. Their the direction of third base and shouted, “Run to third.” As
sojourn in this world is often brief, and in terms of this Nathan rounded third, the boys from both teams ran behind
world may seem sad. But they have retained their purity. him screaming, “Nathan, run home.”
And they have fulfilled their mission. Nathan ran home, stepped on home plate, and all 18
When we look at a disabled child we can shout out, boys lifted him on their shoulders and made him the hero.
“Where is G-d’s perfection? Everything G-d does is done That day, those 18 boys reached their level of G-d’s
with perfection. But this child cannot understand things as perfection.
other children do. This child cannot remember facts and Each of us is capable of that perfection. Each of us can
figures as other children do. Where is G-d’s perfection?” do something to give dignity to a shattered heart, hope to
When G-d brings a child like this into the world, the a broken spirit, comfort to a challenged soul, love to an
perfection that he seeks is in the way people react to this impoverished person. Each of us can open our hearts to those
child. who are disabled physically, emotionally, and spiritually.
There is a story of a disabled child named Nathan. One Each of us, in some ways, is “handicapped.” We are all
afternoon Nathan and his father walked past a park where challenged in some ways. We all have our hardships and
Send us your simchas! some boys Nathan knew were playing baseball. disabilities, emotionally, spiritually, socially, or physically.
The Jewish Voice welcomes Nathan asked, “Do you think they will let me play?” We ought to see our own handicaps not as a punishment,
but as a summons to be particularly sensitive to those who
Nathan’s father knew that his son was not at all athletic.
announcements of life-cycle He was under-developed both cognitively and physically, are lacking in life. If I were perfect, how can I shed a tear
and most boys would not want him on their team. But
for the broken vessels? How could I empathize with them?
events in the local Jewish Nathan’s father understood that if his son was chosen to All of us are summoned at times to descend into broken
community. The copy deadline is play it would give him a comfortable sense of belonging. places to allow all of the Nathans of the world score their
Nathan’s father approached one of the boys in the field

home run.
Rabbi Leib serves as youth director for Chabad House
the 15th of the month. and asked if Nathan could play. The boy looked around for Lubavitch of Palm Beach and runs the Jewish School of the
guidance from his teammates. Getting none, he took matters
Send text and images to into his own hands and said, “We are losing by six runs and Arts kid’s program, (561) 624-7004. The advice offered in
bernstein.wendy@gmail.com. the game is in the eighth inning. I guess he can be on our this column is for informational purposes only and is not
intended as a substitute for professional advice. To ask the
team and we’ll try to put him up to bat in the ninth inning.”
Nathan’s father was ecstatic as Nathan smiled broadly. rabbi a question, email rabbi@chabadpalmbeach.org.
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