Now, remind me, where was I? We had a member once who said he found it hard to listen to me because I go off on tangents. I feel like I just came back from a 15-month tangent.
Over the last several months, I gave the Derasha only at the end of Shul. We were doing a lot to keep it short and we wanted to give people an option to leave. The Derasha itself was also short. I would basically make one point. Like always, I would repeat the point a few times; I wanted to reassure people that it was me behind the mask. But basically one point.
Today, to mark the return to something most people will call almost normal, I want to make two points.
Among the Berachot we hear from Bilam, is one for the Batei Knessiot and the Batei Midrashot. He said, Mah Tovu Ohelecha. The Gemora says in Sanhedrin that we learn from the Berachot of Bilam what he really wanted to say in terms of curses. And the Germora says that all of the Berachot turned to curses because of the failings of the Jewish people. But this Beracha alone is the Beracha that does not ever turn into a curse.
The gemora does not say why, which leaves it open to commentators. At the risk of this turning into three points, there are basically two approaches. Either it is because these institutions are indispensable to the larger world or because they are incorruptible.
The first idea is that the Jewish people cannot exist without these institutions. The challenges of the world would be too much, the travails too shattering. Pandemics, and war, and anti-Semitism, and catastrophic loss would overwhelm us. If we did not have a place to come to seek out Hashem in prayer, and a place to bolster ourselves in learning, we could not last. And if we cannot last, the world cannot last. One version of this approach says that Bilam himself acknowledged this, for he knew that the world depends on our well being, and therefore he said this blessing with a full heart. In everything else, his heart was obviously split. But in this, he spoke with a full heart.
The other approach is that the Jews do not fail when it comes to Shul. Any other blessing -- high position, great wealth -- can lead to hubris or to misuse. But a Shul and learning are supposed to lead to humility, and Hashem always appreciates humility.
In speaking about these things, the Gemora does not say that Bilam was blessing us with “Davening” and “learning.” It says places of Davening and learning, where they are done collectively. This is where people strengthen each other, and push each other to do better and better. Those are the activities which are either essential to the world or incorruptible. One of the things that was so frightening about the shutdown was that these two institutions were indeed unreachable. These are the places where we respond to calamity; they give us hope and a way to reach better footing. We cannot be thankful enough as we get another chance to strengthen them.
For the second point, I want to make sure I put in a word about two impactful families. During discussion about the annual dinner, these were the two families I suggested that we honor. We usually don’t talk about these things, but since they are both leaving, and the dinner never took place, I thought I could mention it. The Spiegels made enormous contributions in volunteer time during their time here. Adina jumped right in to bolster the Chesed effort, and Yaakov took on harrowing assignments both on the Board and with the medical team. They were real models of engagement.
For R’ Evyatar and Rachel, there are really no words. I was disappointed that nothing formal was done for them, but I told R’ Evyatar that in the end it was fitting that nothing was done. That’s because there’s really nothing that could have been enough. We could close down El Camino and it wouldn’t be enough. We could fill up Stanford stadium, and it would not be enough. My son said at one point, “as things get harder, R’ Evyatar just gets stronger.” We’re walking around in a demoralized fog, wondering where everyone is. And he just gets more energetic. No matter which Sefer Torah he has to lift, it’s like a toothpick. No matter how much Leyning or Davening we ask him to do, his voice gets stronger. He and Rachel gave our kids and the school a real sense of joy in their Yiddishkeit, a gift that will continue to serve them for the rest of their lives. But R’ Evyatar was central as he helped us maintain the indispensable and incorruptible Shul.
