Rabbi’s Musings & Amusings

It’s one of those things that happen to someone else. When you hear it, you shake your head and express your sympathy and breathe a sigh of relief that it was someone else, and not you. But last week it happened to me.

This winter, I had quite a saga with cars, tickets, and insurance claims. Leaving out many other details and events, I had a court appearance date in Lakewood set for Thursday, February 21, to fight a ticket for failing to yield at a stop sign.

Sunday afternoons during May and June are dedicated to Pirchei Baseball. Every grade has its own teams and games. As the boys get older, the games become more competitive and intense, especially for the parents. That’s why I really enjoy watching the pre-1Aers, the youngest boys, play; their games are pleasant and unpressured. I saw it when our oldest son Shalom was in pre-1A years ago, then again with our second son Avi, and this year, with our third son, Dovid.

So what do Yankees games, old time kibbutzim in Eretz Yisrael, and this year’s Lag BaOmer m’durah (fire) in New Square have in common?

You guessed it: They all play Havah Nagilah!

I don’t know if this happens in anyone else’s home, but often when I ask one of my near-perfect children to do something, he or she will reply, “I don’t want to.” A wise friend noted that when his children say that to him, instead of snapping back angrily, or giving a harangue about chutzpah, he simply shrugs and says, “That’s fine; you don’t have to want to do it. Do it anyway!”

There are certain people whose accomplishments seem to traverse normal human limits. They seem to possess uncanny and selfless devotion to their causes, which influence klal Yisrael and promote Torah. What is the secret to their unmitigated energy?