Ten Years Later

This week is Parshat Emor--the torah portion I had at my own Bat Mitzvah 10 years ago.  In honor of that anniversary, I thought it was worth sharing the speech I gave to the members of my synagogue.  It's interesting to see how far we've come as a community in the past 10 years.

It is customary for a Bat Mitzvah to have a project which contributes to the community.

But how do we define a community today? Is our congregation a community? Or do we search farther and include people throughout the world who believe in religion and G-d?  Is a community a chat room on AOL? Or is it the entire internet?

Some would have us believe that it takes a village, but in this day and age we need to be visionaries and consider the whole world as our community.

Tomorrow’s headline in the local paper will read: “Palm Beach Virus Strikes Our Town!”  

It is the first disease caused by an organism that can discriminate--and only infects people who are selfish, narrow-minded, or bigoted.  Most people thought that they would be immune--after all, so many people here attend charitable balls for one cause or another throughout the season; and many contribute to our local hospitals, art centers, and schools.

Unfortunately, next week’s headline will read: “Seventy Per Cent of Palm Beach Population Infected with Virus.”  This includes some of the most prominent and philanthropic people in Palm Beach and is leaving everyone asking “Why?”

A religious leader who believed that people who got AIDS deserved it was one of the first infected by the Palm Beach Virus.  Several so called “compassionate” politicians were infected because they did not want to invest in curing diseases outside of their geographic area.

Think back for a moment to last Yom Kippur.  Remember what it was like fasting for the entire day--but you knew there was a big meal waiting for you at the end.  Now imagine going to bed without eating and waking up the next morning wondering if you will eat that day.  This may seem very unlikely to happen to you personally, but unfortunately millions of children all over the world go to bed hungry everyday.

The causes most people contribute to are the ones with which they have had personal experiences--but there is no ball at Mar-a-lago to raise money for malnutrition--nor for malaria, which still kills millions of children each year and more people than any other infectious disease.

My parents have taught me how important it is to contribute and volunteer to help those in need.  My father worked in a leprosy colony in Tanzania and provided medical care to tribal people in remote parts of Nigeria and Kenya.  He continues to provide free medical care locally for those in need.

My mother volunteers to help underprivileged children through the Adopt-a-Family program.  She provides free tutoring to struggling students unable to pay the usual fees for a private tutor.  She also volunteers for the Democratic party--but probably wouldn’t have to if dad would stop helping those Republicans!

For my own Bat Mitzvah Project I have decided to collect medical supplies and money which will be contributed to a group of Jews in Cuba who are trying to provide health care to people much less fortunate than I am. 

We need to realize that our planet is our community.  If we are not concerned for everyone’s well being--there will be more than the Palm Beach Virus to cope with.

Shabbat Shalom

--delivered May 13th, 2000

Temple Emanuel, Palm Beach, FL