From Jerusalem to Vermillion
Vermillion, Ohio. Is the first thing that comes to mind the radio commercial? You know, “Liberty in…Solon…Maple Heights…Parma… Brunswick… Vermillion… Hmmm"? That was my only point of reference to this self-described "Small Town on a Great Lake." But now I was preparing to spend a Shabbat in a rental house on the beach of Lake Erie.
So, last Wednesday, I made a pilot trip out there to check out the property.
I was chugging along westbound on Route 2. I had borrowed my father's van and 2 mattresses from my mother, just in case the "16 mattresses" advertised in the rental house did not live up to the promise. (It turns out that it did, so I happily returned them.) It was a beautiful, balmy fall day, and the sun was starting to set in the west. The drive was peaceful and serene, and I was enjoying listening to my favorite app, Torah Anytime. As I entered Vermillion, my GPS blurted out: "Exit right onto Jerusalem." It almost felt like an out-of-body experience, At that moment, I felt like I was taking a piece of Jerusalem along with me to Vermillion.
In case you're wondering, here's the backstory: 14 JFX men traveled to Israel - 7 guys last year, and 6 more this summer. Plus me, if you're doing the math. We all came back ready to bring that inspiration home. If you've been on one of the JWRP missions, you know exactly what I mean.
Then I got a call before Rosh Hashanah from a friend of mine. He wanted to sponsor and offer me a special kind of challenge. Reminiscent of the Ice Bucket Challenge, this would be more a Mitzvah Challenge. All of the Israel Mission men would have an opportunity to challenge themselves by choosing a mitzvah that they would commit to bring more of into their lives. Each man chose to challenge themselves with a different mitzvah. From improving one's relationship with his wife and daily acts of kindness, to tzitzit, kosher and Torah study, this challenge has impacted the lives of these men, and their families, in a very special way.
Finally, all the participants who were able to keep this challenge going through Chanukah, would be entered into a raffle, sponsored by my aforementioned friend, to win... two round-trip tickets... back to Israel! This Shabbat, we will celebrate this successful challenge by spending it together in this rental lakefront property. A mini men's-Shabbaton. In Vermillion.
The Kabbalists teach us that when the Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed, "sparks of holiness" flew out around the world, and it is our job as Jews to "gather in those sparks" through bringing Judaism and Torah to all of those far-flung places in the world. That process, explain the Kabbalists, is how we will bring the Messiah. From Vermillion to Jerusalem, here we come!
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Koval
