Reconnecting – Parashat Va-yishlah 5786

So, as many of you know, Sharon and I are getting ready to celebrate, with God’s help, an incredible moment in our family’s life – our daughter’s wedding. 

We feel deeply blessed.

Another blessing is that we’re not just gaining a son-in-law, we’re gaining a whole new family. 

To start that process, our son-in-law-to-be’s family invited us to Los Angeles over Thanksgiving for an engagement party.

It was the kind of trip I love: we landed and started eating – Thanksgiving dinner, the engagement party, and then, on Shabbat, their shul, where they sponsored a meat kiddush which, for someone who can’t eat dairy, is pretty much the Garden of Eden on a plate. 😉

And of course, the minute we stepped into shul, Jewish geography kicked in. I met someone I know from New York, and then our son Ari ran into an old camper of his from Camp Ramah in the Rockies.

After more food at Shabbat lunch, we walked to a local park for a family game of tennis-baseball – a beloved sport in both of our families. 

We had a great time, especially trying to teach their three-year-old niece that after you hit the ball, you run to first base, not straight at the pitcher. 

She was very brave… just not so big on rules.

On the way back to our hotel, we suddenly heard a voice behind us calling, “Ari! Ari!” 

I ignored it at first – there are lots of Aris in LA. 

But this boy, maybe 13, kept calling, and finally ran up to us: “Is your son Ari? I think he was my counselor at Ramah in the Rockies.”

Our Ari was ahead of us, so we called him back, and sure enough, the two of them reunited and started sharing bunk stories. Two Ramah Rockies connections in one Shabbat.

The boy’s grandparents walked over and told us they were in LA visiting for Thanksgiving and playing soccer with their grandsons. They were delighted by the Ramah connection – “What a small Jewish world!” they exclaimed.

I replied, “Yes, it is a small Jewish world… but it’s even smaller since you are both my congregants from 25 years ago!”

They looked again, and then the Shapiros recognized Sharon and me.

They were from my first shul in Highland Park, outside Chicago. I had taught all their kids. Now here we were, in a random park in Los Angeles, watching their grandson and my son reconnect.

There is nothing like reconnecting with someone after many years.

*****

This morning’s Torah reading, Parashat........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)