It was a dark, cold night in the Janowska Road Camp. Suddenly, a stentorian shout pierced the air: “You are all to evacuate the barracks immediately and report to the vacant lot. Anyone remaining inside will be shot on the spot!” In a panic-stricken stampede, the prisoners ran in the direction of the big open field. Exhausted, trying to catch their breath, they reached the field. In the middle were two huge pits. Suddenly, the inmates realized where they were rushing, on that cursed dark night in Janowska. Once more, the cold, healthy voice roared in the night: “Each of you who values his life and wants to cling to it must jump over one of the pits and land on the other side. Those who miss will get what they rightfully deserve.” Imitating the sound of a machine gun, the voice trailed off into the night. It was clear to the inmates that they would all end up in the pits. Even at the best of times it would have been impossible to jump over them, all the more so on that cold dark night in Janowska. The prisoners standing at the edge of the pits were skeletons and exhausted from slave labor and sleepless nights. Among the thousands of Jews on that field in Janowska was the Rabbi of Bluzhov, Rabbi Israel Spira. He was standing with a friend, a freethinker from a large Polish town whom the rabbi had met in the camp. A deep friendship had developed between the two. “Spira, all of our efforts to jump over the pits are in, Let’s sit down in the pits and wait for the bullets.” said the friend to the rabbi. “My friend,” said the rabbi, as they were walking in the direction of the pits, “man must obey the will of God. If it was decreed from heaven that pits be dug and we be commanded to jump, pits will be dug and jump we must. And if, God forbid, we fail and fall into the pits, we will reach the World of Truth a second later, after our attempt. So, my friend, we must jump.” The rabbi and his friend were nearing the edge of the pits. The rabbi glanced down at his feet, the swollen feet of a fifty-three-year-old Jew ridden with starvation and disease. He looked as his young friend, a skeleton with burning eyes. As they reached the pit, the rabbi closed his eyes and commanded in a powerful whisper, “We are jumping on three! 1…2…3…” And they jumped.
Ladies and Gentleman, Family and Friends and fellow dedicated USYers, Good Evening and thank you all for joining me. (short pause)
I want to talk to you tonight about friendship, about respect and most importantly about equality. In the opening chapter of the book of Bereshit God creates man:
וַיִּבְרָא אֱלֹהִים אֶת-הָאָדָם בְּצַלְמוֹ בְּצֶלֶם אֱלֹהִים בָּרָא אֹתוֹ זָכָר וּנְקֵבָה בָּרָא אֹתָם
And God created man in His image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them
בראשית א:כז
Like most people the first man needed companionship, so God then created Chava also בצלם אלקים. After some clothes, some simple instructions and a very unfortunate run in with a snake, Adam and Chava managed to get it together and appreciate their blessing of being made בצלם אלקים.
צלם אלקים: This a difficult concept to grasp. I’m sure that each of you has discussed it in sichot or at convention. But how often during a day do you think “Hey, I was made in the image of God so I’m awesome.” For me, I think about it every day when I put on one of my many kippot and thank God for making me who I am. Yes, of course our parents, our friends and our influences play a part in this process, but it is important that we take the concept of צלם אלקים to heart on a regular basis.
As USYers and young adults this is a difficult concept to wrap our heads around. It is difficult to imagine our potentials or the potential of the person sitting next to you. So how do we discover potential and also honor צלם אלקים? Once at a convention I saw three girls sitting in the back of the room during a ruach session. As a board member, I felt it was my responsibility to be a “doogma.” So I went over to them and sat down and began to make conversation. Since then, I have wondered if that was the right thing to do. Perhaps, I invaded their comfort zone and they were perfectly happy sitting there by themselves. Perhaps, all their friends had gone to the bathroom. So had I done the right thing? I was a little uncomfortable, and it was clear that they were thinking, “Who is this person?”
It was not easy to be uncomfortable, but that was the point, I guess. It is our collective responsibility to be dugmaot, even if that means putting ourselves in strange situations and reaching out. People who are active and social tend to have greater comfort zones. I am not asking all of you to be best friends; rather, I am asking you to put yourselves out there and create a warm, welcoming community that allows people to extend their own comfort zones. According to צלם אלקים we all have the same potential to grow; we are all fundamentally the same. This concept connects us while, at the same time, it allows us to be different and grow into our own unique selves. . It is essential to remember that we are all בצלם אלקים; WE ARE ALL EQUAL!
USY is an organization that allows you to better yourself no matter whether you are a regional president, a chapter SATO, the international president or a regular USYer. Everyone in USY has an equal ability to take action and shape the community. That is what makes us so strong. First and foremost, we are a youth movement, where everyone is equal. If you look to my left and to my right, the dais is empty. We as USYers should not elevate ourselves above one another. We need to remain equal. That is what I ask you to remember: that we are equals capable of setting ourselves apart while remaining members of an organization with collective interests.
We need to work together for the common good. We need to remember the role that each USYer can play in bettering society and bettering the Jewish community.
The end of Rabbi Spira’s story goes like this:
When we jumped, Rabbi Spira beheld with his inner eye, the prayer shawl of his father. Time seemed to stop, as he saw the prayer shawl unfold to reveal the prayer shawl of his grandfather and then his great-grandfather. He felt himself filled with strength and a flood of joy coursed through him. When they opened their eyes, they found themselves standing on the other side of the pit. “Spira, we are here, we are here, we are alive!” the friend repeated over and over again, while warm tears streamed from his eyes. “Spira, for your sake, I am alive; indeed, there must be a God in heaven. Tell me, Rebbe, how did you do it?” “I was holding on to my ancestral merit. I was holding on to the coattails of my father, and my grandfather and my great-grandfather, of blessed memory,” said the rabbi as his eyes searched “Tell me, my friend, how did you reach the other side of the pit?” said Rabbi Spira. “I was holding on to you,” replied the rabbi’s friend.
[grab wireless microphone and walk off the dais and go to main floor and be with everyone]
So USY, let us hold on to our heritage and our family. That is how we will survive. Hold on to our shared history, our traditions and our strength, but mostly, hold on to each other. That is how we will survive and also how we will grow. USY, Let us be united for many years to come.
My friends, my equals, thank you for giving me the privilege of being your international president. It has been an honor.
