May 2003
Any others of you a bit down in the mouth these days? It
may help us to realize that, day in and day out, we are all
creating miracles for others, for loved ones in our families
and for others like Edith Schnabel and Ruth Belgard and Amy
Schwing and Inara Isaaks and Lisa Jo Etscovitz, and Steve
Solomon who have found community in being together with us.
Here’s another sweet story about creating miracles
for others – and about resilience.
One of the new rabbis ordained two years ago was Lani Greenspan,
now age 30, who graduated from the Jewish Theological Seminary
in New York. Before attending rabbinical school she graduated
from Fordham Law School and is a member of the New York Bar
Association. Lani additionally has spent time working and
traveling in Israel.
Quite impressive for any young adult. All the more impressive
for Lani Greenspan who lost her sight several years ago when
a benign pituitary tumor destroyed her optic nerve.
What struck me particularly about the Lani Greenspan story
is the way in which her miracle was created, this miracle
of her being able to live a full and rich professional life,
and one should add, a satisfying social life. How did it
happen? How can we understand such things?
A colleague of mine was sufficiently curious when he heard
about Lani that he phoned and spoke with her a bit about
her life. It quickly became clear that Lani herself is an
unusual human being, with a particularly buoyant spirit.
She made clear to my friend that her journey was indeed a
very difficult one. It took a long time and a good deal of
initial soul searching once she lost her sight. And there
were many strong impulses to give up before she generated
the determination and will power to move on with her life.
But such will power alone, Lani emphasized, would have been
inadequate to create a miracle of this magnitude – law
school and rabbinical school. More was involved. And other
people were involved. Here are some of the ways Lani mentioned
in which others helped to create this miracle for her:
- While Lani was hospitalized, she was visited by
dozens of fellow students and teachers from her law school.
She also was visited by numerous rabbis who helped her
maintain her faith journey during this period.
- While Lani
was studying for the Bar, nearly 30 lawyers volunteered
their services to assist her in this preparation.
- Friends
helped Lani arrange the bills in her billfold, showed her
how to navigate a crosswalk, and much else. Classmates
drove her to and from her classes.
- Lani was linked up with
a support group of blind Jewish men and women who speak
by phone and share both their successes
and their frustrations.
- Even the City and State of New
York assisted Lani with tuition assistance and with transportation
assistance using the
city’s
Access-A-Ride program. The telephone company didn’t
charge her for directory assistance; they also installed
a button on her phone which provides her with the time.
Each of the individuals assisting Lani Greenspan helped
create a miracle for this young woman. At the same time,
I have no doubt, those very acts, these very mitzvot: driving
Lani, helping her with her exams, speaking with her about
her life – each of these acts added immeasurably to
the lives of those who performed them, and may well have
contributed to miracles in their lives as well.
Lani said that time after time, the people who gave assistance
told her that they themselves considered their lives so much
richer because they were able to help.
Lani also expressed to me the conviction that God was not
responsible for her blindness, but that God has helped her
to deal with it. Far from being angry with God, she is ever
grateful to God.
During these coming High Holidays, Lani, as Rabbi Greenspan,
will be on the bimah, leading Rosh Hashanah services somewhere
in this country. She may need some help getting there, but
she will get there. She will lead the prayers she knows by
heart. With others she will listen to the chazzan and offer
her amens with full kavannah – with full sincerity
and devotion. She is likely to be using a new machzor recently
produced by the Jewish Braille Society.
But however she prays, whether by memory, or Braille, or
by following the chazzan, she will be thanking God for God’s
miracle. Lani, like some number of us, is not afraid to talk
about God. So Lani surely will be thanking God, and perhaps
she also will be asking God to help doctors return to her
the gift of sight. But Lani knows well that she already has
seen more of life than most people gifted with actual sight.
In Lani’s own words, “I have seen something of
what really matters in life. I have seen and experienced
the best of other human beings who have gone out of their
way to create a miracle for me. This, in and of itself, has
given me adequate reason to live life, to love life, and
to be grateful for life.”
Thank you Lani.
B’shalom,
Jim
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