Shabbat Shalom!
Those of you who know me know that I’m not exactly what you
would call “shy.” Some people have said
that I’m even a bit over friendly at times.
I always have my own opinion as my mom will tell you. And generally, I’m not afraid to stand out
from the crowd.
In my
portion of Shmini, Aaron’s two sons, Nadav and Avihu, die suddenly and
tragically even though they’re very young. We don’t really know why they died. Rashi, a
commentator from the Middle Ages, suggests that they died because they entered
the sanctuary drunk. Rabbi Eleazar in
the Talmud says they were disrespectful to their elders. People tend to blame
the victim. That’s never right, although Nadav and Avihu may have taken unwise
risks.
We don’t
know exactly what happened. The Torah just says they brought a strange
fire. It’s unfair that they were killed
just for daring to be different. As one
who often dares to be different, I can feel for them.
I’ve been in
four plays and love to act. All of the
characters I’ve played have been individualists. Well almost all. You see, in a production of “Alice and
Wonderland”, I played Tweedle Dum. The
problem is that Tweedle Dum can’t do anything without Tweedle Dee. In the play, I was never on the stage without
Tweedle Dee. Fortunately, the guy who
played Tweedle Dee was a good friend.
In real life we looked nothing alike but in costume, we looked equally
ridiculous.
My other roles have been more solo. In “The Little Red Hen” I played the hen, and
stood out in many ways, not the least of which being that…I was red…and
little…and a hen. Much later I played
Peter in “Peter Pan” and a munchkin in the Wizard of Oz – and not just any
munchkin – I represented the Lollypop Guild.
I’m interested
in lots more than just drama and in every case, its important to be proud to be
different. As a Boy Scout, the idea is
not so much to stand out but to stand up, for our country and its ideals. As someone who loves animals, I can tell you
that it’s important to love each one individually - that includes my turtle and
16 fish, including two beta fish, two goldfish, four cyclids, two leaf fish,
one green terror, one cardinal fish, a scooter blenny, a chocolate starfish, a
Hawaiian cleaner shrimp, and a yellow tailed blue damsel. Each fish is special. To look in my five aquariums is to see a vast
variety of colors, shapes and sizes. And
except for the shrimp, the scooter blenny and, oh yes, two snails, all the fish
have fins and scales, which means that, according to my portion, they are
kosher! Not that I’m about to eat
them. And now, I have a brand new
puppy…Tova…who is pure goodness just
like her name!
I also love kids. My mitzvah project was participating in the
mitzvah program at the Friendship Circle, where I have the chance to spend time
with kids who face different challenges – and, just by my example, I’ll be
teaching them, most of all, never to be afraid to stand out.
I only wish Nadav
and Avihu could have been given a second chance to do just that.
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