Shabbat shalom
Standing here today has a lot of meaning for me. On
this very spot almost 30 years ago, my dad became a bar mitzvah. So much has
changed since then and yet… so much has stayed the same. For instance, the Knicks
were terrible then and they sure are terrible now. But seriously, while I know
today will bring back a lot of memories for my family, the prayers I have
learned trigger lots of memories for me.
Strangely, one has to do with camp.
We just chanted a prayer where the Torah is called a
“tree of life.” Why is it called a tree?
Trees protect us, nurture us, provide fruit and oxygen – we really would not be
alive without trees. Similarly, the torah provides us with spiritual
nourishment.
So it reminded me of camp. Every week we sit in a circle around a campfire
and do what my camp friends like to call shenanigans, crazy things like
catching eggs tossed over the fire, or doing a camp wide Harlem shake. By the way, speaking of camp fires, this
weekend is Lag B’Omer, a Jewish holiday that is marked by huge bonfires,
especially in Israel. In my opinion, it’s
the closest the Jewish calendar comes to being like camp.
So, while the torah is a tree of life, at camp we have
the Tree of Values, which are Enthusiasm, Loyalty, Sportsmanship, Friendship,
Achievement and Cooperation. Every Sunday at our camp fire, two campers, who
during the prior week demonstrated each value, get nominated for the award . I
am proud to say thus far during my camp Winaukee career, I’ve been named on the
tree every year.
My Torah portion also talks about trees – twice. If we follow the commandments, and do the
right things, trees will give us fruit.
And if we don’t, they won’t.
Now, I don’t believe that the Torah is teaching us
that if you do good deeds, you are rewarded and if you bad things you are punished. I’ve seen too many kind people who suffer unnecessarily.
Personally, I know that I did not deserve having two oral surgeries in the past
few years. Also, the special needs kids
I work with at Friendship Circle do not deserve their challenges. Or the
underprivileged kids at Casa Verde Home of Hope in Medellin, Colombia. My family has
been supporting Casa Verde for as long as I have been alive, and I am proud now
to be doing my part, by featuring Casa Verde as my bar mitzvah project.
Combining my love for basketball and Casa Verde, I gathered up my closest
friends and family. I selected those who were good free throw shooters for the
free throw fundraiser (sorry mom that is the real reason why you were not
chosen). To date, we have raised $2,965 dollars. Those of you that are staying
for the kiddush, will notice the branches and
photos on the table which tie together
my love for Casa Verde.
So we’ve talked about a tree of life and
we’ve talked about a tree of values , there is a third
type of tree that is the most important to me– my family tree. Not only
did my dad become a bar mitzvah right here on this very bimah, but so did my
Aunt Pam. And my grandparents and great
grandparents have set down deep roots
here. I am so proud to become part of that legacy.
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