What a great way to begin the new year! There are really no words to describe the emotions and the feelings that our family is experiencing at this moment. The outpouring of your love and support is really overwhelming. Simone and I are truly honored to see so many of our communitys leaders celebrating this incredible event in our lives with us this morning. Just a few hours ago we all concluded Yom Kippur with Neila, and as the gates were closing we inserted six words into our Shmoneh Esray prayer and as I said it the prayer took on a whole new meaning for me this year. “V’chasom L’chaim Tovim Kol B’nei Brisecha” We asked Hashem “to seal all of the children of your covenant, of your BRIS, for a good life”. What a great way to end Yom kippur and begin the next day with the simcha of a Bris. But there is more, because we are taught from the Torah, our instructions for living, and our Rabbi’s in the code of Jewish Law that as soon as Yom Kippur is over its already time to start preparing for the next holiday, Sukkot. And although Sukkot this year falls out on Wednesday night, there is a custom to start building your Sukkah right after Yom Kippur in order to go directly from one mitzvah to another mitzvah. I’m not about to ask everyone to raise their hands if they started building there Sukkah last night, because thank God, we have another Mitzvah which our community just got to experience. I have to say that Simone was really anxious when she found out that her due date would fall out during the Holiday season, what if the baby would be born on Rosh Hashana, Yom Kippur or Sukkot, well baruch Hashem our son was born on a Tuesday, and at least we wouldn’t have a crazy Sunday bris. It’s been a long ride from summer camp to bed rest to driving the 5 kids back while Simone flew back on Jetblue, with headphones, DirectTV and extra legroom, to more bed rest to going into labor and almost having the baby in the car to planning a Bris and then being told only hours before that we would have to postpone the Bris, to an extended hospital stay with our newborn baby. But before we knew it or even had a chance to realize what was taking place our amazing Jewish community stepped in the. The BRJE community, the Israel trip community who made sure Simone had all of the ice coffee she needed () The community of Camp Mesorah, Ari Katz & Joseph Stansky, who were only more than happy to make any accommodations for Simone when she went on bed rest, moving meals to our cabin, essentially moving the office to our cabin and having the campers visit their camp mom around the clock, it was emotional for them and certainly for us. The Boca Raton community, who from the moment we arrived back in Boca, meals, carpools, doctor’s visits were all taken of. It’s for reasons like this that we continue to fall in love with this community and just as an aside, whenever anyone asks me, what do I attribute our incredible success in outreach and engagement, the answer is simple just introduce them to the Jewish community, a community imbued with Torah values, a community where everyone comes together to support one another in challenging times and what we hope to do more of, celebrate in everyone’s joyous occasions. And we really did celebrate together, at the Shalom Zachar and we can’t thank our friends Rabbi Adam and Shira Englander for hosting and all of the members of Boca Jewish Center and Rabbi Gibber for making the long walk. The long list of friends that attended and brought food, each one of you means so much to us and especially Michal Schochet for coordinating everything at the celebration. We really want to thank all of the people that traveled from a distance to share in our simcha this morning. A special thanks to Dr. Rebecca Stern for being the most incredible doctor who delivering our fourth child, Shimmie Kaminetsky, Noam Kaminetsky, Daniel Adler, and Elan Barenholtz for signing so nicely as the baby was escorted into shul this morning, you all are blessed with incredible voices and your choir enhanced the moment. Gershon Shwardron, our friend and caterer, from the moment the baby was born to called us and told us not to worry (TWICE) because it was all taken care of and you truly went out of your way to make this a memorable event. Michal Marcus and her amazing team for helping to set everything up for the Bris this morning. Nachum Caplan, Rabbi Mordechai Yachnes and Shlomie Luggassy for making the moment with your music and ruach. Dr. Sid Cohen and David Steinberg for taking such great photo’s so we can remember this moment, Moshe Kaminetsky for everything you do and of course Mattehew Hocherman who did everything he could during his busiest season to ensure that Boca Raton Synagogue would be ready for the Bris. Rabbi Goldberg and Rabbi Moskowitz, we are privileged to live in your community and it’s an honor to call both of you friends and my brothers. They say when you name a child you are given some small level of Ruach Hakodesh, or proffecy, I had a name ready to and friends suggested other great names that start with an Aleph, but when you have ruach Hakodesh up against what your wife wants, I’ve learned over the past almost 30 years together, just listen to your wife. The name Eytan means strong and we hope and pray that you will be a sourse of strenghth to the Jewish people. I know Eytan is so strong already because he told me this morning that after the poking and prodding in the hospital that this Bris would be a walk in the park and he handled it so well. But more than that Eitan, its what we hope you achieve and we hope and pray that you will learn a few important lessons from your family. Eytan let me introduce you to your grandparents, grandma and Zaydie Brown and bubbie Broide, the most caring and giving people Ive ever met. There is nothing that they won’t do for our family, When I say to people that there really is nothing more important than family I learned it from them. I’m only sorry you never got to meet Zaydie Broide, my father, but I know he is watching from above and enjoying this moment right now. Eitan you are blessed to have 5 amazing older siblings, each of them excel in different areas and your mom and I couldnt be prouder of all their accomplishments. Ayala shes a natural born Jewish leader who will inspire you as she does with those around her. Avigayil her determination and ambition will motivate you to accomplish your dreams. Eliana her conscientiousness and focus on academics will help you be studious and achieve greatness. AJs genuine care and concern for his siblings and friends will help you be more empathetic. Ahuva her glowing smile will light up your day as she does mine everyday of your life. My children, Eytan is going to look to the five of you for guidance and your mom and I are confident youll be there for your new baby brother every step of the way. Where did the children get these amazing qualities from? Well that’s not hard to answer if you know Simone. Simone, we stand here on the day after Yom Kippur and we have all heard the lesson of Teshuva Gemura, that if you really want to correct something you have done wrong, you need to be in the same place and be faced with the same circumstances and get it right. Well almost nine years ago when we had AJ’s Bris, Asher Yosef, who was named after my father, I asked you what you thought of my speech and you said it was great but you forgot to thank me. Well it’s no secret that you are the reason for my success. You have always let me pursue my dreams, when many others wouldn’t and there is no one in the world that I need to thank more than you. You are amazing!! Eytan, we look forward to seeing you grow up in a community that essentially raised us. We grew up here, because its the greater Boca Raton Jewish community that really taught us so much about Jewish life. My blessing you is so simple but unfortunately something which our generation struggles with. Ahavas Yisroel, genuine love for your Jewish brothers and sisters with a goal of achieving real Jewish unity. And Eytan, my son, as your name implies that takes strength!!! There once was an old man who was walking along a seashore filled with starfish which had been washed ashore. Thousands and thousands of them lined the shore, struggling to make it back to the water in which they lived. A small boy who was walking toward the beach saw the old man throwing the starfish one by one back into the water. In amazement the boy approached the man and said to him: Excuse me sir, but there are thousands and thousands of starfish on this seashore! Do you think that you could possibly make a difference? It seems rather hopeless and most of them will surely die! The old man looked up as he threw another one back into the sea and said to the boy, I made a difference to this one. He picked up another starfish and threw it in, and to this one... and to this one. Imagine the difference we could make if instead of criticizing we would work together. And together, the old man and the boy continued to return the starfish to the sea. This is not to suggest that we should all act the same and ignore our differences. As the saying goes: Two Jews, three opinions. But because we have differences doesnt mean we cant love and be committed to one another, learn together, and work together for Jewish survival. And Eytan, my son, as your name implies that takes strength!!! Rabbi Boruch Ber Leibowitz, one of the great rabbis of pre-war Europe, was quoted as saying: When I will stand before the heavenly court, and they will ask me, What merit have you brought with you? What shall I answer? Torah? Is my Torah knowledge worth enough to be mentioned? Fear of Heaven? Are my deeds worthy of that description? There is only one thing I could possibly claim -- that I loved every Jew with all my heart. And Eytan, my son, as your name implies that takes strength!!! I once heard from my Rebbi, Rabbi Frand, that if we would retain our awareness of just how much we gain from uniting with all Jews – not only in times of tragedy, but in all times – we would have a much easier time overlooking the differences and retaining our respect even as we disagree. And the reward can be nothing short of miraculous. On the tenth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks a Jewish magazine ran an interview with some of the Hatzolah ambulance members who rushed to the World Trade Center to try to save the lives of the people escaping the inferno. Heshy Jacobs, one of the heads of Hatzolah, related: “At the end of the day, when the head of the Emergency Medical Service [EMS] system, Chief Robert McCracken, asked Itzy Stern, ‘How many guys did you lose?’ Itzy didn’t want to tell him how many we lost, because we hadn’t lost any, and they had lost hundreds. So he began describing a broken leg here, a broken arm there. Chief McCracken interrupted him: ‘No, I mean how many died?’ So Itzy sheepishly said, ‘None.’ “The chief thought for a moment and said, ‘Tomorrow I’m staying with you. It’s evident God was with you today.’” “For ten years I’ve walked around wondering, ‘Why?” continued Heshy Jacobs. “We were in the Towers, we were close on all sides, so why did the Master of the Universe do that miracle for us openly? And I believe the answer is because we all came b’achdus, Jewish unity.” “You heard where they came from: Boro Park, Flatbush, Williamsburg, Crown Heights, Upper East Side, West Side, Lower East Side, Riverdale, Canarsie, Queens, Manhattan… Every single neighborhood came for one reason: because Jews and other people needed them.” For those of you who are unfamiliar with the New York landscape, these neighborhoods represent Jews of every stripe, Religious Jews, Secular Jews, Chassidim, Misnagdim, Lubavitchers and Satmars, Ashkenazim and Sephardim, affluent Jews and less-affluent - the entire spectrum of the Jewish community was there to help. “So the story here,” concluded Heshy Jacobs, “is that if Klal Yisrael, the Jews in our community, are unified, we would also be able to see miracles!! And Eytan, my son, as your name implies that takes strength!!! That is what needs to happen following a Yom Kippur. If we come to the realization that we’re all in this together, then we can merit to see the ultimate redemption. Mazel Tov!! And thank you all for coming to celebrate and share in our simcha.
Posted on: Sun, 05 Oct 2014 21:11:53 +0000
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