norfolk_stories (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} norfolk_stories) wrote,@ 2007-10-30 16:48:00 |
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Need a Family?
Thanks to the Navy, this guy ended up in Norfolk. It happens a lot. The area is home to the largest Naval base in the country.
He was a Jew, and he was big and intimidating. The metaphor of a bull in a China shop is a little overused. Let's call him a herd of buffalo in a mall kiosk that sells sculpted glass. I mean this in a good way. He may not have been well-spoken, but he didn't hold back and he was easy to engage in a conversation.
He may have looked like a regular huge Navy guy, but he was really a cultured, well-traveled young man with a knack for cooking and willing to lend a hand. Thankfully, the Bnai Israel community was able to see past his gruff exterior and give him the familial support he didn't have. He soon became turned on to learning and began regularly attending minyonim. Before we new it, he was traveling to New York to further develop his Yiddishkeit. When his father passed away, we were a little surprised to see him in Norfolk again. But it made sense - we were his family. He wanted to say Kaddish around us.
When he left for good to go learn and grow as a Jew, he wrote a shockingly eloquent speech and took the bima his last Shabbos to deliver it. It was a thank you. It clearly spoke about how he was so touched that our community took a chance on a guy like him and didn't judge him based on his past or on his looks. His delivery wasn't the best - partly by nature, but mostly because he was emotional. The speech was later reprinted in Bnai Israel's bulletin and I hope to include a copy in this book.
We were all touched, The lesson is one I shouldn't even have to explain. Sure, I tried to avoid a cliche before, but here's another one: Don't judge a book by its cover. Every Jew is important and we need every Jew if we're going to bring Moshiach. They're all family and you'll be surprise who will come around if you just reach out your hand.
Thanks to the Navy, this guy ended up in Norfolk. It happens a lot. The area is home to the largest Naval base in the country.
He was a Jew, and he was big and intimidating. The metaphor of a bull in a China shop is a little overused. Let's call him a herd of buffalo in a mall kiosk that sells sculpted glass. I mean this in a good way. He may not have been well-spoken, but he didn't hold back and he was easy to engage in a conversation.
He may have looked like a regular huge Navy guy, but he was really a cultured, well-traveled young man with a knack for cooking and willing to lend a hand. Thankfully, the Bnai Israel community was able to see past his gruff exterior and give him the familial support he didn't have. He soon became turned on to learning and began regularly attending minyonim. Before we new it, he was traveling to New York to further develop his Yiddishkeit. When his father passed away, we were a little surprised to see him in Norfolk again. But it made sense - we were his family. He wanted to say Kaddish around us.
When he left for good to go learn and grow as a Jew, he wrote a shockingly eloquent speech and took the bima his last Shabbos to deliver it. It was a thank you. It clearly spoke about how he was so touched that our community took a chance on a guy like him and didn't judge him based on his past or on his looks. His delivery wasn't the best - partly by nature, but mostly because he was emotional. The speech was later reprinted in Bnai Israel's bulletin and I hope to include a copy in this book.
We were all touched, The lesson is one I shouldn't even have to explain. Sure, I tried to avoid a cliche before, but here's another one: Don't judge a book by its cover. Every Jew is important and we need every Jew if we're going to bring Moshiach. They're all family and you'll be surprise who will come around if you just reach out your hand.
