The Short Vort
Good Morning!
Today is Tuesday the 25th of Tishrei 5781 and October 13, 2020
A Simchas Torah Like No Other
A year like no other. There are no other words to describe this Yom Tov season.
The logistical preparations involved in creating a Makom Tefilla while adhering meticulously to the State’s Covid requirements were no small feat.
For me, the most upsetting event of the season was the news I received the morning after Yom Kippur.
I began to feel somewhat symptomatic a few days before Shabbos Shuva.
I quickly went to the testing center, and the rapid test came back negative.
I also took the overnight more accurate test and asked them to call me with the results on Sunday, Erev Yom Kippur.
No one called on Sunday, and I took that as a siman that "no news is good news."
When Yom Kippur ended, I noticed that I had one missed call from Sunday at 6:31 PM from the Medi-Center.
Kol Nidrei began at 6:30 PM.
The next day I called the clinic.
The fellow seemed bored as he asked for my birth date and my last name's correct spelling.
He then said the words which impacted me more than Nesaneh Tokef.
"Eisenman, tested for Covid-19, final result- positive".
I was stunned and fell silent.
“Did you say “positive”?”
“Yes, positive for Covid-19. If there is nothing more you need, have a nice day.”
I sat in my seat as the information began to register, and I began to process it.
I have Covid-19.
I am over 60.
I quickly informed the entire Shul of my new status as I headed to my bed.
Hashem, in His ultimate mercy, was very kind to me as my symptoms were comparatively mild, and given the days I first became symptomatic, my quarantine was relatively brief as I had no cough or fever.
Yet, the recognition that I was now one of those who were smitten with this plague was humbling.
My former feeling of being the indomitable rabbi, sheltered from the virus, had been shattered.
The relatively benign and mild symptoms and my truncated quarantine period allowed me to return to Shul for Succos.
This was a blessing, yet, simultaneously, a challenge.
A blessing as I was back in Shul.
A challenge, as since I was back in Shul, everyone assumed I was running at full strength while in truth, many a time I was coasting.
Simchas Torah would be the most challenging of all the Yomim Tovim to pull off successfully.
We could not dance, nor do hakofos.
Finally, we decided that only the Chazzan would do the Hakofos and we would all sing niggunim in our socially-distant places.
I held my breath in trepidation to the reception of the new Simchas Torah format simultaneously; I was physically drained and exhausted by the virus.
The day went beautifully.
Everyone sang their hearts out, and there was a genuine feeling of Achdus and Simcha in the air.
As I slowly walked home after an exhausting Yom Tov, a masked man approached me together with his small daughter wearing a pink child-size mask.
I said, “Good Yom Tov.”
To my surprise, the fellow said, “Rabbi, do you have a minute, my daughter wants to tell you something.”
I could have said, “I am drained now, please excuse me.”
I could have said, “Please wish her a Good Yom Tov from me.”
However, instead, I said, “Please, tell me!”
The little girl looked at me, and through her pink disposable 3 Ply Earloop Face Mask said, “Thank you so much for keeping us safe. My morah said to stay safe is the biggest Mitzvah. Thank you.”
As I turned to go home, somehow, I felt stronger, and the burden of fatigue and exhaustion began to dissipate.
It’s amazing what the words of a small child can do for a sexagenarian rabbi.
“If Not Now, Then When?”-Hillel
Ron Yitzchok Eisenman
Rabbi, Congregation Ahavas Israel
Passaic, NJ
