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“VER VOLT DOS GEGLAIBT”? (WHO WOULD HAVE BELIEVED IT?)
Marjorie Gottlieb Wolfe
Syosset, New York
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The headlines read,
BOY WANDERS ONTO STAGE TO HANG OUT WITH POPE FRANCIS.
Pope Francis is the 4th most powerful person in the world according to Forbes magazine. He ranks immediately after Presidents Putin (Russia), Obama, and XI Jinping (China).
Thousands of Catholic families from around "di velt" (the world) gathered at the Vatican just recently to celebrate the Year of Faith with Pope Francis. (The Yiddish word for "faith" is "emune.")
On Saturday evening, Oct. 26, 2013, a small group of children were invited to sit on the pope's "platforme" (platform) to listen to speakers from across the world. They were to speak about faith and families.
While representatives from more than 80 countries addressed the pope, a little boy walked onto "di bine" (the stage) to say hello.
Pope Francis was visibly amused when the child stayed on the stage instead of returning to his seat on the steps. The boy refused to leave the pope's side, even at the encouragement of several cardinals.
When the representatives came forward to greet the pope, the little boy was initially amused. But then he realized what was going on and decided to help out.
When Pope Francis began his speech, an aide attempted once again to make the child return to his seat. He even tried to bribe him with candy. The little boy refused, wrapping his arms around the pope in a tight hug. (The Yiddish word meaning "to hug" is "haldzn.") Pope Francis didn't seem to mind. In fact, he seated the boy on his chair before resuming his speech.
The pope got thumbs up. Greg Burke said that Pope Francis is "able to show his joy so plainly."
Many books and sermons have been written about the word "joy." (In Yiddish, the word joy is "freyd" and "joyful" is "freydik.")
Rabbi Eliezer Havivi of Beth David Synagogue in Greensboro, NC, (" Children Run Wild in Sanctuary!") remembers when he first came to Beth David. "Daniel [his son], then six, was into reading Ninja Turtles comic books. He would climb up onto the bimah, climb into my seat, six next to Victor Ackerman, and read his comic books. And that's how he learned that that's what we do on Shabbat morning. We come to shul. Some of us come to daven. Some come to read the parsha. Some come to talk to our friends. An some come to read comic books and play with transformers."
Rabbi Havivi continues: "Do toddlers and infants and young children sometimes make noise and distract the davening, or even steal the show from the rabbi when he's giving a d'var Torah? Yes, they do......"
Rabbi Yitzchak Wyne, spiritual leader of Young Israel Aish of Las Vegas, wrote [in 2011] a book titled, "Life is Great! Revealing the 7 Secrets to a More Joyful YOU."
He writes, "Happiness is not a selfish or trivial pursuit--it is a very, very important issue. Happier people make the world a better place. They treat themselves and others better. If everyone was happier, marriages would be better, schools would be more effective, and the cost of health care would plummet. There would be a reduction in the size of our police forces, and we wouldn't require as many prisons and probably many armies would disband. Happiness is that powerful."
And Rabbi Shmuley Boteach ("Why God Exposes the Gossip Monger") wrote, "The most important manifestation of human love is being happy for someone else's joy. It's why we attend each other's weddings, it's why we send presents for a boy's Bar Mitzvah. We're trying to show that rather than feel sad at someone else's milestone, it makes us happy as well...We celebrate other's birthdays to show that we are giddy at their being granted another year of life. Celebrating someone else's joy shows that we have transcended enmity and jealousy."
And, finally, Rabbi Wayne Allen, Ph.D. ("Real Joy: A Sermon for Parshat Zakor 5771")
wrote, "Each synagogue ought to appoint a ‘Simhah Committee.' By ‘Simhah
Committee' I do not mean a committee mandated to look after celebratory events.
That would be the task of the Catering Committee or Membership Committee.
What I would propose is that each synagogue needs to put in place a vehicle for
getting each member to feel the real joy in doing something important and meaningful
for others...What needs to be emphasized is that transformative power of engaging
in an act of kindness." (Note: Some people use the spelling "simcheh" or "simkhe"
when referring to a joyous celebration.) "Gut gezogt." (Well said.)
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MARJORIE GOTTLIEB WOLFE'S FAVORITE STORY:
A "raykh" (rich) old uncle was so joyful when his young nephew decided to come into his dress business with him. He had just graduated from Cornell. "But don't think you're coming in here and starting at the top," his uncle said. "You'll begin as a ‘shutef' (partner), just like the rest of us did."
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