Not All Miracles Happen at the Red Sea:
Today, Erev Shabbat, I celebrate a wonderful miracle that I was privileged to behold.
Three years ago I received a random call to the Synagogue from a parent who wanted to have a Bar Mitzvah for their child. As protocol dictates, I asked the family for some background-where they were married and for some more details about their Jewish/religious background. It soon became very clear that they did not have a strong Jewish/religious background, and other than having a Bris for their son, they had never stepped foot into a Synagogue in their lives-not the Bar Mitzvah Boy, nor his parents, and not even the grandparents.
They came to the US from the former Soviet Union in the 80s, and felt very distant from (if not intimidated by) any religious settings.
Over the next two months we played phone tag as we exchanged phone calls and tried to set up a time to meet. Every time we had a time scheduled, mysteriously, the day before-or even an hour before- the parents would cancel.
I had practically given up on the family, until, to my great surprise, I received a phone call one Friday afternoon at 3PM that the family had come to the Synagogue and wanted to meet me right then.
Cantors are generally in their busy mode Friday afternoons, but I decided that, regardless of this, I would meet them. To my surprise, I met a wonderful and warm family-two parents and their son-who seemed bewildered and lost religiously, but very much connected in their soul to the Jewish people.
The child’s Bar Mitzvah was to take place, according to the Hebrew Calendar, on the next Shabbat. I’ve heard of using the "EZ Pass lane" for Bar Mitzvah preparation, but a week, by all standards, is nothing short of impossible.
Something in my heart told me not let this family go. The following Shabbat this boy got up in Shul, with both his parents and grandparents in attendance-the entire family's first time participating in a religious service- and the boy read the blessings for the Torah transliterated into English. The parents and grandparents were crying, and I stood on the side and witnessed what was an incredible moment. When I saw how moved the family was, I was determined that this would surely not be the Bar Mitzvah Boy’s last time in Shul.
Over the next two years we invited this family to our home multiple times. We got to know them on a deeper level, and witnessed their fearless trailblazing towards deepening their knowledge and understanding of Judaism.
Both the Bar Mitzvah Boy and his sister were attending a prestigious private school in Manhattan. We spoke to the family about Torah and Shabbat, and Jewish education. This afternoon I received a call from the mom, and with great emotion she shared with me- “I have just made the most important decision of my life. I pulled my child out of public school, I enrolled him in Ramaz, we are making our home Kosher, and would you please teach my child how to put on Tefillin properly?”
So, in a few moments, I will once again meet this boy on a journey of three years. From parents who were hesitant, if not afraid, to reach out to a Synagogue for a Bar Mitzvah, to a family who is celebrating what they consider to be one of the greatest moments in their lives.
To me, this is not only a celebration of this family, but of the Jewish family-and the spirit of love and commitment that Jews have for their heritage. I have no doubt that this family will go on to contribute to the Jewish people in the most meaningful of ways. I am proud to have had even a small role in this incredible journey of Jewish Spirit.
Am Yisrael Chai.