In Brooklyn, New York, Chush is a school that caters to
learning disabled children. Some children remain in Chush for their entire
school career, while others can be mainstreamed into conventional schools.
At a Chush fund-raising dinner, the father of
a Chush child delivered a speech that would never be forgotten by all who
attended.
After extolling the school and its dedicated
staff, he cried out, "Where is the perfection in my son Shaya? Everything God
does is done with perfection. But my child cannot understand things as other
children do. My child cannot remember facts and figures as other children do.
Where is God's perfection?"
The audience was shocked by the question,
pained by the father's anguish, stilled by the piercing query.
" I believe," the father answered, "that when
God brings a child like this into the world, the perfection that he seeks is
in the way people react to this child."
He then told the following story about his
son Shaya:
One afternoon Shaya and his father walked
past a park where some boys Shaya knew were playing baseball.
Shaya asked, "Do you think they will let me
play?"
Shaya's father knew that his son was not at
all athletic and that most boys would not want him on their team. But Shaya's
father understood that if his son was chosen to play it would give him a
comfortable sense of belonging. Shaya's father approached one of the boys in
the field and asked if Shaya could play. The boy looked around for guidance
from his teammates. Getting none, he took matters into his own hands and said
"We are losing by six runs and the game is in the eighth inning. I guess he
can be on our team and we'll try to put him up to bat in the ninth inning."
Shaya's father was ecstatic as Shaya smiled
broadly. Shaya was told to put on a glove and go out to play short center
field.
In the bottom of the eighth inning, Shaya's
team scored a few runs but was still behind by three. In the bottom of the
ninth inning, Shaya's team scored again and now with two outs and the bases
loaded with the potential winning run on base, Shaya was scheduled to be up.
Would the team actually let Shaya bat at this juncture and give away their
chance to win the game? Surpassingly, Shaya was given the bat.
Everyone knew that it was all but impossible
because Shaya didn't even know how to hold the bat properly, let alone hit
with it. However as Shaya stepped up to the plate, the pitcher moved a few
steps to lob the ball in softly so Shaya should at least be able to make
contact.
The first pitch came in and Shaya swung
clumsily and missed. One of Shaya's teammates came up to Shaya and together
the held the bat and faced the pitcher waiting for the next pitch. The pitcher
again took a few steps forward to toss the ball softly toward Shaya. As the
pitch came in, Shaya and his teammate swung at the bat and together they hit a
slow ground ball to the pitcher.
The pitcher picked up the soft grounder and
could easily have thrown the ball to the first baseman. Shaya would have been
out and that would have ended the game. Instead, the pitcher took the ball and
threw it on a high arc to right field, far beyond reach of the first baseman.
Everyone started yelling,"Shaya, run to
first. Run to first." Never in his life had Shaya run to first. He scampered
down the baseline wide-eyed and startled. By the time he reached first base,
the right fielder had the ball. He could have thrown the ball to the second
baseman who would tag out Shaya, who was still running. But the right fielder
understood what the pitcher's intentions were, so he threw the ball high and
far over the third baseman's head. Everyone yelled, "Run to second, run to
second." Shaya ran towards second base as the runners ahead of him deliriously
circled the bases towards home. As Shaya reached second base, the opposing
short stop ran to him, turned him in the direction of third base and shouted,
"Run to third." As Shaya rounded third, the boys from both teams ran behind
him screaming, "Shaya run home."
Shaya ran home, stepped on home plate and all
18 boys lifted him on their shoulders and made him the hero, as he had just
hit a "grand slam" and won the game for his team.
"That day," said the father softly with tears
now rolling down his face, "those 18 boys reached their level of God's
perfection."
