My eldest daughter qualified for the L.A. County Fire Department's junior lifeguard program yesterday. I'm thrilled, of course, because the training is really intense and she will learn an incredible amount on the beach this summer.
But what I'm even happier about is the way she qualified. As a 12-year-old, she had to prove she could swim 100 yards in 1 minute and 40 seconds. We trained for weeks, and she hit her best time last Friday: 1:46. I believed she could do it.
The test day came on Easter morning, and she went all-out. The time: 1:40.56.
She had failed. One might have thought that they would have let her in -- half a second! -- but they did not. Standards are standards, and apply to everyone.
But she had one more chance to make it. The lifeguards gave her coaching about breathing and so on, and advised her to rest for 20 minutes. When she hit the water the next time, she went even harder. All-out, for 100 yards.
I couldn't tell whether she would make it or not; I didn't time her test myself. When she hit the wall, they told her they would tell her the time when she was out of the water. She dragged herself onto the deck: 1:36. She had crushed it.
There is nothing like watching a child face obstacles and overcome them. I love the fact that the lifeguards stuck to their standards. I also love the way that she pulled herself together and maintained a positive outlook. She'll never forget it.
This week’s portion launches the great story of Abraham, who is told to leave everything of his life behind — except his immediate family — and to leave for “the Land that I shall show you.”
There’s something interesting in the fact that Abraham is told to leave his father’s house, as if breaking away from his father’s life — but his father, in fact, began the journey, moving from Ur to Haran (in last week’s portion). His father set a positive example — why should Abraham leave him?
Some obvious answers suggest themselves — adulthood, needing to make one’s own choices, his father not going far enough, etc.
But I think there is another answer. Abraham (known for the moment as Abram) needs to establish his own household. This is not just about making one’s own choice, but really about choosing one’s own starting point. It’s starting over.
Sometimes we start over in fundamental ways even if much that surrounds us remains the same. Sometimes the journey we have to ...
The story of Noah is familiar; the details, less so.
Noah is often seen as an ambivalent figure. He was righteous -- but only for his generation. What was his deficiency?
One answer suggests itself: knowing that the world was about to be flooded, he built an Ark for the animals and for his own family -- but did not try to save anyone else or to convince them to repent and change their ways (the prophet Jonah, later, would share that reluctance).
Abraham, later, would set himself apart by arguing with God -- with the Lord Himself! -- against the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, saying that they should be saved if there were enough righteous people to be found (there were not).
Still, Noah was good enough -- and sometimes, that really is sufficient to save the world. We don't need heroes every time -- just ordinary decency.
Hi all -- as I noted last month, I'm going to be closing down my Locals page, at least for tips and subscriptions -- I may keep the page up and the posts as well, but I'm no longer going to be accepting any kind of payment.
Look for cancelation in the very near future. Thank you for your support!
