The Short Vort
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The Short Vort- -“G-d Bless America” (6/7/10)
The Short Vort
Good Morning!
Today is Monday the 25th of Sivan 5770 and June 7, 2010
G-d Bless America
Its not often you hear these words anymore; certainly not from the pen of an Orthodox Rabbi.
However, maybe that is part of the problem.
Allow me to continue.
Last night found Rabbi Eisenman in the holy city of Williamsburg.
I say that with total sincerity and adoration.
In my humble opinion, the closest place on this planet to Yerushalayim is Williamsburg.
I love being privileged to frequent its streets and alleyways.
Where else in the world do you hear Yiddish- or as it were called when I was a child- Jewish- being spoken by children and adults; men and women; shop owners and patrons?
As I walked the sanctified streets of this 21st century shtetel I looked lovingly at the cherubic faces of the little boys and girls as they frolicked and pranced through the streets without a worry in their pristine and unblemished hearts.
As I entered the main shul on Rodney Street, I saw hundreds of men engrossed in learning Torah and davening to Hashem.
As I walked down Ross Street, I noticed dozens of women emerging from a Tzedoka event which in all probability was not even for the population of their community.
On Lee Avenue I admired the now legendary bus of the Satmar Bikur Cholim which goes daily to the hospitals in Manhattan delivering home cooked kosher food to any Jew; irrespective of their religious persuasion.
I observed dozens and dozens of shteibach and Batei Medrash and most of all, I lovingly gazed at the holy faces of the hundreds of fellow Jews who walk the streets unabashedly Jewish in their dress, language and mode of conduct.
I thanked Hashem for allowing me to witness such a neighborhood located in the midst of the most modern and culturally secular city in the world.
Why then is the title of this Short Vort, “G-d Bless America”?
The answer has not yet been revealed.
I observed one more incident which I have failed so far to disclose; that incident is the reason for the title of this Vort.
As I was heading back from the Satmar Shul on Rodney Street, I noticed a group of Chassidic men holding radios and running down the street. They had no medical equipment on them and they were not moving towards a vehicle so I said to myself, “these guys must be part of the famous Shomrim squad. I am going to follow them, as this will no doubt lead to a Short Vort!”
I was not disappointed.
I quickly turned on my heels and off I went in quick pursuit of these 21st century heroes!
About one block down on Bedford Avenue the objective of the chase became apparent.
There in the street, surrounded by half a dozen Shomrim members was an African-American man standing next to a bicycle lying in the street. As I approached the men, I realized that the fellow under guard was accused of ‘misappropriating’ the bicycle from a Jewish grocery and he was being held until the police could arrive.
I waited and observed for about 7 minutes until a police vehicle arrived to take control of the situation. For many in the crowd of onlookers, these seven minutes were just another opportunity to ‘kill time’; however, for me, they were ‘seven minutes to heaven’.
As I was watching, I overheard the suspect- who talking on his cell phone – relate: “I was just borrowing a bike from this Jewish grocery- which the owner allowed me to borrow- and the next thing I knew, all of these Jewish copsappeared out of no where and are holding me here!”
Did he say: Jewish cops? Did he really say Jewish cops?
Indeed, he did.
However, this is not the end of the story.
As we were waiting for the police to arrive, numerous individuals- myself included- kept surging forward off the sidewalk and into the street to see and hear what was transpiring.
All this time, the Shomrim men- who were very professional and courteous, continually urged everyone to return to the side walk while simultaneously making sure that traffic continued unimpeded down Bedford Avenue.
They were very sensitive not only to their needs which was apprehending the suspect, they were equally concerned that traffic was not impeded and that even the suspect was never taunted nor abused- even verbally!
They treated the accused man with respect and backed off the moment the police arrived and allowed the officers to speak with the suspect in an uninterrupted fashion.
In short, I felt proud to be a part of these people who professionally, effectively, yet, in a non-vigilante method- keep their neighborhood safe and secure.
It was also obvious that they have an excellent working relationship with the local prescient and its officers.
Friends, just sixty five years after many of these men’s grandparents were being gassed in Auschwitz, their grandchildren are the ‘Jewish cops’ of Williamsburg; working in tandem and with the support of the local authorities and with their encouragement and backing.
Where else in the world can you find a Jewish cop, who speaks Yiddish, has peyos and a beard and has the respect and backing of the government powers that be?
Where else in the world will you find ‘Jewish cops’ who have respect for the law of the land and make sure -while maintaining the safety of their own neighborhood- that the needs of all the citizens of the city in which they reside are maintained?
Only in America.
It may be a Mitzvah to live in Eretz Yisroel; however, it is a zechus and a chessed from Hashem to live in America.
G-d Bless America.