One Small Step for Man
One of my all-time favorite topics is the power in small things and how a seemingly insignificant action can actually be a life-changing one.
In times of crisis, especially on a global scale, we often ask ourselves, "What can I do? This problem is much too big and way too complicated for little ol' me. Leave this one to the diplomats and VIPs."
In 1967, the fledgling State of Israel was attacked by five enemy Arab armies threatening to push the young Jewish state into the sea. Most of world Jewry stood by and watched helplessly. After all, what could anyone do?
A petite, 5-foot tall mom and housewife in Cincinnati, Ohio named Elise called up her husband while he was at work and said, "They are fighting in the streets of Jerusalem. What are we doing about it?" His reply was, "I'm not going into a war zone." But she insisted, and shortly after the six-day war ended, Elise and her husband Gene flew to Israel to see what they could do.
They came back home energized. They became ardent Zionists and took up leadership positions in their local Israel Bonds chapter. They subsequently made frequent trips to Israel and passed along the values of leadership and compassion to their three children. Their daughter Sydney recalls how by the time she graduated high school, she had visited Israel three times, an unheard-of phenomenon among her peers. She still fondly recalls a personal meeting that her family had with David Ben Gurion!
Decades later, Sydney, a young woman in her 20s, working and living in Chicago, took a trip to visit Israel one summer. She embarked on Jewish journey of self-discovery, and ended up immersing herself in her Jewish heritage, and decided to make her newfound enthusiasm a significant part of her identity.
When she shared her passion with her parents, she was not surprised that they supported her decisions and lifestyle choices wholeheartedly. Although it was not the way they chose to live their lives, they were proud of her and felt that she was taking their ideals and values to the next level. Years later her father Gene would often comment with pride, "I have grandchildren studying Torah in Jerusalem!"
Last week Elise passed away, and her daughter, today a grandmother living in Cleveland, shared this story with me at her mom's shiva. I was struck by this thought: just imagine, if her mom hadn't picked up the phone in 1967 to see how she and her husband could get involved, the trajectory of their family's Jewish journey would not have been even remotely close to what it is today.
On a personal, JFX note, so many members in our community have been directly impacted by this short phone that Elise made in 1967 You see, Elise's daughter is Sydney Harris. She and her husband Michael have been JFX Partners In Torah and active JFX volunteers for the past 15+ years. And Elise's granddaughter, Sara Rena married Rabbi Josh Grodko, a dedicated JFX staff member for several years.
Chessed is like a boomerang. The more of it that we put out there, the more it will impact the trajectory of our lives and profoundly influence our surroundings.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Koval
