The Short Vort by Rabbi Eisenman

 

 

One young boy had a difficult time in school.

His parents did their best to provide him with the education which matched his needs.

It wasn't always easy.

Our Talmid had a challenging time in elementary school.

He was a rambunctious, energetic, and sometimes even an unruly student.

He preferred the great outdoors over the confining classroom.

 

The other boy in our story also did not have the easiest time in school.

He, too, was not quite part of the crowd.

Yet, this boy was committed to learning.

This boy was never called out for discipline issues.

Perhaps he had social difficulties and some minor learning issues, yet he behaved well and caused no trouble in class.

 

Despite their different temperaments and attitudes towards conventional learning, Hashem, in His ultimate wisdom and mysterious ways, decreed that their lives would intersect in ways that no one could have predicted.

 

The surprising and unpredicted interfacing of the lives of these two boys would not only impact them.

The reverberations from their intersecting lives continue to be felt across both sides of the Atlantic until today.

 

When they were both in the sixth grade, the rambunctious, energetic, and sometimes raucous boy and our quieter, tranquil, decorous young man found themselves together in one classroom.

 

The two boys were not particularly friendly, nor did they travel in the same crowds.

Yet, one event over twenty years ago would be a defining moment in their lives.

 

On one particularly cold winter day, the principal called the mother of our raucous sixth grader.

She explained to the mother that she must come immediately to the school to pick up her son.

"What did he do? Why is he being sent home?" the mother asked.

Mrs. Perlman*, the principal, explained that recently, the yeshiva had adopted a zero-tolerance policy towards any student who raised their hand against another student.

There will be no exceptions and no second chances.

"Unfortunately, your son hit another boy today, and I must follow protocol and insist you come to pick him up now," said Mrs. Perlman.

 

The mother of our sixth grader sighed; this was not the first time she had received this call, and her sigh was audible over the phone.

Mrs. Perlman hesitated momentarily, contemplating if and how she should phrase her next sentence.



Perhaps it was prompted by the mother's sigh, or maybe it was her sense of fairness.

Surprisingly, she said, "Yes, you must pick him up; however, please don't punish him further.

In fact, if you want to stop and get him an ice cream on the way home, I would not protest."

"What do you mean buy him an ice cream? I thought he was being suspended for raising a hand to another boy?" Asked the mother incredulously.

"He did raise his hand, yet some context is necessary.

 

Your son is certainly an energetic young boy.

However, there is another boy in the class who is quiet, unassuming, and never misbehaves.

His name is Tzvi Aryeh Rackoff.

He's a wonderful boy who enjoys learning.

Tzvi Ayreh is a boy who gives it his all and whose parents do everything and more to provide him with a solid Chinuch.

Unfortunately, he is the target of bullying by other boys.

Today was no exception, as one boy began taunting Tzvi Aryeh.

Your son warned the boy to stop.

When the boy would not back down, your son raised his hand to protect Tzvi Aryeh.

He figuratively and literally put the bully in his place in the coat closet.

The entire class cheered as your son made the bully realize that his taunting would no longer go unanswered.

I wanted you to know that your son did a great Mitzvah as he stood up for a boy who had no one to stand up for him.

So please, pick him up; however, buy him an ice cream on the way home."

 

After that day, Tzvi Aryeh Rackoff was no longer picked on.

Tzvi Aryeh Rackoff would go on to succeed in yeshiva.

He married, learned in Kollel in Lakewood, and was blessed with a daughter.

Unfortunately, he passed away at the age of twenty-seven.

 

He lives on through his daughter and his loving family.

His legacy continues through the many acts of Chessed performed by his family to perpetuate his memory.

 

And who was the boy who stood up for Tzvi Aryeh?

He is my son Tuvia, who is serving proudly in the IDF, along with all of our brave soldiers.

He is still standing up for others.

 

Two boys, one encounter.

The two families remain united in ways never imagined that winter day years ago. 

Hashem has His plan, and we are mere spectators as we observe His perfect choreography.