A Word from the Director: 5/6/2011

We had a very busy week at Aish Tamid, as I met many new people – both teenagers and young adults. As many of you know, Aish Tamid offers community service hours for those who need it. It gives us the opportunity to meet people and try to see if there are ways that we can assist them, as we try to create or find an opportunity for them to get their hours completed. We try to create opportunities for them that will be meaningful. Because of these mandated community service hours, participants have created long-term relationships with Aish Tamid. Many of them have continued to stay connected with us long after the hours are done.

This week I had the opportunity to meet with two young individuals that left an unbelievable impression upon me. These two individuals – one of them who experienced traumatic events in his life, and the other who got involved in very risky behavior at a very young age – have both grown to become resilient teenagers. They both have a long way to go but they both have this insatiable drive to succeed and pick up the pieces of their lives. The easy way is for them to give up and just let their lives take them in whatever direction it may. But they have such a spirit and a drive to succeed, that they have overcome many challenges in their day to day lives. These kids will one day become mentors and leaders because of the effort they made to overcome their challenges.

Many challenges in our life are overwhelming and often seem unfair and we don’t understand why they happen to us. However, we have to learn to view these challenges as opportunities for growth. We need to teach our children that life’s challenges are meant to help us be the best we can be. This week I was truly inspired by two young men who have been very successful in accomplishing this goal.

Have a good Shabbos,

Rabbi Gavriel Hershoff