Parashat Shemot

Since the summer, I have been watching the construction of the new firehouse on Arcola and Georgia Avenues.  For quite a while, it was just a big trench but one day, massive vertical beams appeared.  A few days later, construction workers were walking on horizontal beams.  Several months later now, we can see what the building will look like when it’s finished. 

My initial reactions were those of an educator, how this building parallels teaching and child development.  We spend an enormous amount of time laying the groundwork, building the deep foundation for the future.  Not much is visible nor tangible to the uninitiated as our kindergarten students learn to be students and those all-so-important basics: how to be part of a group, how to listen and share, to ask questions, and to think.  And then – one day, there it is: the child is reading, or recognizing letters, or bursting out in verses of a song, or explaining the difference between various coins, or opening a siddur and davening.  Taking this analogy to a higher level, we experience the struggles of children, sounding out the words, putting the letters together, wrestling with the meaning of the words of the sentence or the pasuk.  All of a sudden, as the light bulb turns on, as the foundation becomes even more fortified, there is clarity and the “aha” moment appears!  Wow.  All that study, all that preparation, all that hard work has come to fruition.

Today, that foundation takes on a different meaning for me.  As part of an “institution”, the larger MJBHA, there are many behind-the-scenes people who keep the building and its operations stable and sturdy, who are essentially an integral part of the foundation.  Over Winter Break, we suffered the death of Jeff Binder, our “Operations Manager.”  Jeff had been part of the MJBHA for 27 years.  As we look to see how we will fill the void, it is more than just who will fulfill his various roles.  We take the time to recognize his important contributions to the school as a valued and vital employee, as well as to recognize his role as a human.  One of Jeff’s traits was his energetic, cheerful personality and the caring way in which he greeted everyone.  We cannot bring him back, painful as that is to recognize.  But we can strive to emulate his goodwill and his pleasant ways; we can smile at others and greet everyone. He was the perfect example of Avot 1:15:

שמאי אומר,………….והוי מקביל את כל האדם, בסבר פנים יפות

“Shammai would say: …….. And receive every man with a pleasant countenance.”

We can memorialize Jeff by emulating him, by continuing his pleasant demeanor and making everyone feel welcome.  We can contribute to the very framework of our organization, to the foundations of our lives, by following in the footsteps of this individual who affected so many people personally.  Y’hee zichro baruch…may his memory be for a blessing.

At this week’s Oneg, we will be remembering Mr. Binder by referring to this beautiful trait of his, of his pleasant ways.  Shabbat Shalom