Oh Bill ~ I hadn't read that one before and now I'm going to go to bed with bittersweet teears in my eyes.

Thanks for sharing all the beautiful reminders you share with us!

~ Elizabeth

This true story can be attributed to
Rabbi Paysach Krohn, a public speaker & published author of inspirational stories.

It is from a speech he made at in Brooklyn, New York, for Chush an Orthodox Jewish Day School school that caters to learning-disabled children. Some children remain in Chush for their entire school careers, while others can be mainstreamed into conventional Jewish Day Schools. There are a few children who attend Chush for most of the week and go to a regular school on Sundays.

At a Chush fund-raising dinner, the father of a Chush child delivered a speech that would never be forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school and its dedicated staff, he cried out, "Where is the perfection in my son Shaya? Everything that Hashem does is done with perfection. But my child cannot understand things as other children do. My child cannot remember facts and figures as other children do. Where is Hashems perfection?"

The audience was shocked by the question, pained by the fatherÂs anguish and stilled by his piercing query.

Shaya attends Chush throughout the week and Yeshivah Darchei Torah in Far Rockaway on Sundays. One Sunday afternoon, Shaya and his father came to Darchei Torah as his (Jewish)classmates were playing baseball. The game was in progress and as Shaya and his father made their way towards the ballfield, Shaya said, "Do you think you could get me into the game?"

I thought I would point out the facts
"just the facts, mam" :-)
because this story has often been labeled as an urban legend!

I have heard that story several times and every single time it makes me bawl!!!

Thanks for posting it Bill.

Librarymom-- Thank you for that. I didn't know if it was true or not. I hoped it was, but even if not, it would still be a beautiful parable. :-)

Beautiful story, Bill. We all need that reminder that people CAN be good, kind & unselfish.

There are two books I read years ago that you may want to check out. The "Chicken Soup for the Soul" (series) & "When Bad Things Happen to Good People" written by Harold S. Kushner - very insightful reading.

librarymom: Here's an interesting discussion from Snopes about the story.

Note that in the original story told by the Rabbi, Shaya doesn't die.

I just love this story. Thanks for bringing it around, Bill!

I'm reminded of an incident from high school that's still very clear in my memory. There was an austistic guy in my class, and while we were in PE one day we had to do situps and pushups. He couldn't figure out how to do them, so one of the most beautiful girls in my class, a popular cheerleader and the object of lust of every boy in the school, went over and helped him with the exercises. Long after the rest of us were done and sitting around watching just the two of them in the middle of the gym floor, she was patiently helping him through the exercises.

I suspect I wasn't the only one feeling ashamed that I wasn't out there helping as well, and I never looked at that girl quite the same way again after that. I learned a valuable lesson that day - beauty is more than skin deep. And the coolest kids are the ones that help others, not the ones that just act cool.

There is a lot of good in the world...

DS grew up with a child in his class who had moderately severe spastic cerebral palsy. He walks unassisted, but with an obviously twisted gait. As a young adult, his arms are much more relaxed (from therapy and a surgery or two, I believe) than they were in elementary school, where it was difficult for him to hold a pencil, much less a bat.

David was always included in every activity and my DH coached the baseball and basketball teams. He got equal playing time, and though his participation 'cost' the team many games, his teammates wouldn't have it any other way. He never made a basket, never stole or caught a ball, usually made it halfway down the court by the time his teammates were headed back, and never made a base hit. Until one game...

The kids were in fourth or fifth grade. We were playing a team coached by a childhood friend of DH's. He and his wife had a Downs Syndrome child when they were in their very early 20s, and their younger son was DS's age. When David came up to bat, the other team 'threw' the play. David made a home run. Both teams were cheering, and all the parents were sobbing. The other coach hadn't said a word about letting David score. His kids did this on their own. And it was the winning run for us, costing them the championship. And they were elated for this little kid they didn't know.

They are young men now, and hopefully they will help spread good in the world...

My Godchild is 15 years old. He has many, many disabilities. He didn't walk until he was 11 and is still pretty unsteady on his feet. He's legally blind. He can't talk in complete sentences.

Last week was his first day of high school.

Bill, I've read that story probably a dozen times, but it hit so much closer to home today. I hope Kyle comes across kids like that in the days/weeks/months ahead.

Thanks

jerzeegirl:
Yes, I didn't even see that, because I heard the story years ago. As far as I know, Shaya is alive and well!

That's my point about urban legends :-)

No offense or ill will toward Shayla, but for the point of the story, WHAT DOES IT MATTER??

The point is that a bunch of normal average every day kids saw the opportunity to help someone worse off than them and took that opportunity to make that little boy's day one of the best of his life. As I said above, it doesn't matter to me if it's true or COMPLETELY fabricated. The point and the effect is still exactly the same.

Lori-- I hope so too. Guaranteed, he's being watched over, and I know you know what I mean. :-)

Pauline-- Just so happens that I get Daily Chicken Soup for the Soul in my email every day, as well as having 4 of Jack C.'s books. :-)

pecanpie-- been there, done that. When I lived in Connecticut, one of my ex's best friends-- her 46 year old brother has cerebral palsy, and is a deaf mute, as well. Because of those two things, alot of people think he's retarded, including some of his own doctors. But I can tell you, he's sharp as a whip, and knows and understands everything that goes on around him. The worst of it all is he never could really get a grasp of sign language, and basically created his own. It took me about two years before I could really understand him and converse with him, but it was time well spent. I got involved with him as his "one on one" in the special olympics for three years before we moved to Florida, and it was some of the best times of my life.