Inspired

This past weekend has truly been a source of special inspiration to me. Rabbi Leff shlita came back to visit his hometown of Miami. I had the privilege of hearing him speak three times.

I guess I will need to reveal a little bit about my neighborhood here before I continue (and what I know is just from talk - I definitely was not there myself!). In the 1960s, my neighborhood had a lot of Jews; but only a few were observant. Most were of the Reform/Conservative variety. As South Florida grew, these Jews out to newer, more developed neighborhoods. Rabbi Leff came in when this change was occuring. On top of that, the Orthodox Jews that were in the area were of the older generation and it was a true battle to keep the younger people coming to the Orthodox shul.

Under Rabbi Leff's guidance, the shul started to revive. Rabbi Leff is a baal teshuva and very "matter-of-fact" about the mitvot. On on hand, he lit a fire under the youth to learn, study, and live Torah amidst a world that was moving increasingly away from observant Judaism. On the other hand, you had the "old school" who were not as machmir as the Rabbi, and just sort of tolerated it all.

How exactly 1 shul turned into 3 is something I don't know all the details about. I heard that the original shul (which is Modern Orthodox now, perhaps even then the kehila was) wanted to slant towards the Zionist side of the spectrum, but Rabbi Leff did not agree on including prayers for Eretz Yisrael in the service. So they broke away to create the shul I mainly go to - Shaarey Tefillah. When Rabbi Leff made aliyah, he appointed Rabbi Bensinger shilta to succeed him; but he was even further "to the right" than Rabbi Left was. So he (along with some others) founded Torah V'Umunah.

Currently, the community is moving towards being overwhelmingly Orthodox. Within the eruv, there are hardly any non-Orthodox Jews left; only the Orthodox and non-Jews. The shul count is now around 7 due to the addition of a Chabad House, non-Lubavitcher Chasidishe shul, and two Sephardic shuls. In some ways, the growing pains are obvious. As the new shuls start, the old ones lose members and money; and the new ones struggle to get "off the ground" and forgo the luxury of legacy. This is what Rabbi Leff came home to. And he joked about it all; with a smile on his face. I could not help but wonder if he could forsee this 20 years ago - when his decisions were met with such opposition. Did he have any idea of the seeds he would be planting?

But I am not writing this entry just to praise Rabbi Leff only (although he certainly deserves it! His humour and candor are one-of-a-kind); for he is a living testament of something bigger. That is the fact that when things happen to us, even if they seem negative at the time, we don't always see the good it can create in the long run. I will not pretend to know what Rabbi Leff was feeling personally when his kehilla decided to fragment off. From accounts of some of those who were there, it was not exactly a friendly split from member to member (synagogue politics is usually "involved"; I can only imagine what is would be like when some members want to break away and form a new shul!). But by looking around to those who came to see the Rabbi speak; they came from all the shuls. And the Rabbi had nothing but satisfaction on his face when hearing and seeing all that was going on locally. If I could bottle the contentment of Rabbi Leff, that would be the only satisfactory way to convene his attitude towards his base community.

This further convinces me of the strength that lies in the unity of Klal Yisrael. Different minhagim should not create a stance of being at odds. Sephardic food is good, take the recipe; the Chassidim have a wealth of lessons to convey, read them and learn; the secular Jews love to fundraise Israeli orphans, help them out. Know your own way, and be proud of it. If you catch strife for sticking to your guns, don't feel bad. Someone, rather it be your children, your community, or your parents will be strengthened. It took more than 100 for Black Americans to get equal rights; can you imagine what life would be like for me if in the 1920s, the Black Americans gave up hope and said, "You know what; White people are right. We are inferior!". I shudder to think about it. Because a certain Black man in South Carolina stood up to the KKK and got lynched is why I have the life that I have today. This is what Rabbi Leff said loud and clear to NMB this past Shabbos without those specific words ever being uttered from his mouth.