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<\/p>\nA few years ago, I was leaving Shul after davening Shacharis one morning when an older gentleman in our community stopped me and asked if I had a minute to talk. The truth was, I was running late and barely had time to say hello let alone entertain an entire conversation.\u00a0 But, he seemed so happy to run into me in the parking lot that morning and so I couldn\u2019t say no. He shared with me a most remarkable story that changed not only the way I see him as an individual, but also the way I relate to people in general.<\/p>\n
A few days before this chance encounter, we had sat on the floor together with many others reading Kinnos, commemorating the tragic suffering of our people throughout the ages.\u00a0 In my introduction to the Kinah composed by Yirmiyahu Ha\u2019Navi for Yoshiyahu, I shared an insight of Rav Soloveitchik.\u00a0 Why, asked the Rav, do we pause in our mourning for millions of Jewish martyrs throughout the millennia, to focus on the story of a particular individual?\u00a0\u00a0 He explained that when we reflect on the magnitude of the loss of Jewish lives throughout our history, the sheer number is overwhelming and staggering.\u00a0 Indeed, paradoxically, the greater the quantity of individuals lost, the more challenging the quality of our sense of grief for them. The Rav felt that we dedicate an entire Kinnah to Yoshiyahu, a single individual, to remember that the loss of millions is really the loss of one plus one plus one plus one.\u00a0 Each person is unique and irreplaceable.\u00a0 Each loss equals the loss of an entire world.<\/p>\n
I continued by relaying a personal experience from leading March of the Living, a tour for teenagers of Poland and Israel.\u00a0\u00a0 One of the most powerful points of the trip is the visit to the death camp, Majdanek.\u00a0 From the intact barracks to the enormous pit of human ash, touring Majdanek is simply devastating.\u00a0 One of the most stirring images of the entire trip is a barrack in Majdanek filled with shoes that were confiscated from Jewish prisoners.<\/p>\n
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Before entering the barrack filled with shoes everywhere, we encouraged the students not look at the overwhelming scene of countless shoes that lay before them.\u00a0 Instead, we told them, pick out one shoe to focus on.\u00a0 Look at it and consider, who was its owner?\u00a0 How did they feel when they bought those shoes and when they slipped them on for the first time?\u00a0\u00a0 Where did these shoes lead them?\u00a0 Recognize that each shoe was worn by a person who had a mother and father and perhaps a spouse and children.\u00a0 They had a personality, dreams, ambitions, and goals.\u00a0 All of it was tragically cut down and all that is left to commemorate them is the shoe that is before you.<\/p>\n
Standing in the parking lot a few mornings later, the elderly man reminded me of my remarks Tisha B\u2019av morning and told me that he must share a story.\u00a0 He proceeded to say that when he was a young child he was taken, together with his family, to Auschwitz.\u00a0\u00a0 His brothers and father were taken one direction and he was ordered to go a different one. He found himself in a room with other children and elderly people.\u00a0 The Nazi\u2019s instructed them to take off their shoes and undress.\u00a0 There was one older man who was wearing the most magnificent, fancy, expensive shoes.\u00a0 He went up to the guard and said, \u201cI won\u2019t leave my shoes here; they are my prize possession.\u201d The guards laughed and said, \u201cdo you think where you are going you are going to need shoes\u201d and commanded him to undress.<\/p>\n
Our community member continued by telling me that even as a young child, when he heard the guard\u2019s laugh and his unforgettable words, he thought to himself, dos iz nisht gut<\/em>, this is not good, and instinctively ran, avoiding all of the guards, until he rejoined his brothers and father.\u00a0\u00a0 Looking back all these years later, he confessed, he doesn\u2019t know how he made it from one barrack to another without being caught or seen or how he was able to blend in with the grown up men as a young boy.\u00a0 But, he said, the only reason he survived is because of that man\u2019s fancy pair of shoes and the fact that he wouldn\u2019t part with them.<\/p>\n I walked away from the conversation that morning feeling so small, utterly insignificant, and frankly somewhat embarrassed.\u00a0 Until that morning, this man, whom I have always tried to be friendly towards, was nothing more than ordinary to me.\u00a0 True he had an accent and likely had a \u201cstory.\u201d\u00a0 But, he modestly blends in and quietly goes about his business as if he has led the most mundane, uneventful life when in truth his life, was anything but.<\/p>\n If you look around you on a regular basis, there are seemingly ordinary people who in fact have led the most extraordinary lives.\u00a0 This shy, humble, quiet man had displayed unfathomable courage, tenacity and strength in his life.\u00a0 His attendance at davening<\/em> every day of the week is in truth an enormous expression of faith and devotion to the Almighty, despite the hardships, tragedy and loss that he has confronted.<\/p>\n All too often, we only learn the background of a person when it is too late to ask them questions.\u00a0 We walk away from their funeral inspired, impressed, but also curious to learn more.\u00a0\u00a0 With their loss goes their story as only they could tell it, the answers to our questions and the solutions to that which\u00a0piques our curiosity.<\/p>\n The Torah (Devorim 32:7) tells us, \u201cSh\u2019al avicha v\u2019yagedcha z\u2019keinecha v\u2019yomru lach, <\/em>Ask your fathers and they will tell you, your elders and they will explain to you.\u201d Our fathers and mothers and our elders have so much wisdom, incredible life stories and extraordinary experiences to share with us. We stand to gain enormously by learning from them. However, \u201csh\u2019al<\/em>,\u201d we need to first ask and show interest.<\/p>\n That day I learned that a man I had considered an \u201caverage Joe,\u201d was indeed a mighty hero.\u00a0\u00a0 Let\u2019s not wait until it is too late to learn other people\u2019s stories.\u00a0 Be inquisitive, ask questions, and most importantly recognize that behind most ordinary people are extraordinary experiences that we can all learn from, if only we take a moment to ask.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A few years ago, I was leaving Shul after davening Shacharis one morning when an older gentleman in our community stopped me and asked if I had a minute to talk. The truth was, I was running late and barely had time to say hello let alone entertain an entire conversation.\u00a0 But, he seemed so<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":733,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[85],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-43189","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-inspiration"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/yt3.ggpht.com\/-TP7UkakiguA\/AAAAAAAAAAI\/AAAAAAAAAAA\/NM-kQXuUYhI\/s100-c-k-no\/photo.jpg\")
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