However, it is not
only an American that can fully appreciate the intensity of this
marvelous “sports” story. This tender story also has universal
appeal,
because it deals with the universal values of sensitivity, self-esteem,
and acceptance.
In
Brooklyn, New York, Chush is a school that caters to learning-disabled
children. Some children remain in Chush for their entire school
careers, 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 and stilled by his
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. The game was in
progress and as Shaya and his father made their way towards the
ballfield, Shaya said, “Do you think you could get me into the game?”
Shaya’s
father knew 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, “Do you think my
Shaya could get into the game?”
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 already 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, a position that exists
only in softball. There were no protests from the opposing team, which
would now be hitting with an extra man in the outfield.
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 and the
potential winning runs 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?
Surprisingly,
Shaya was told to take a bat and
try to get a hit. Everyone knew that it was all but impossible,
for
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
in a
few steps to lob the ball in softly so that 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 they 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 towards Shaya.
As
the next pitch came in, Shaya and his teammate swung 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 and wide beyond the first baseman's reach. Everyone started
yelling, “Shaya, run to first! Shaya, 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, as everyone
yelled, “Shaya, run to second! Shaya, 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
shortstop ran towards him, turned him towards the direction of third
base and shouted “Shaya, run to third!”
As Shaya rounded
third, the boys from both teams ran behind him screaming, “Shaya, run
home! 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 the “grand slam”
and won the game for his team.
“That
day,” said the father who now had tears
rolling down his face, “those 18 boys reached their level of
perfection. They showed that it is not only those who are
talented that
should be recognized, but also those who have less talent. They
too are
human beings, they too have feelings and emotions, they too are people,
they too want to feel important.”
*
* *
That
is the exceptional lesson of this episode. Too often we seek to
find
favor and give honor to those who have more than us. But there
are
people who have fewer friends than we, less money, and less
prestige.
Those people especially need attention and recognition. We should
try
to achieve the level of perfection in human relationships which those
boys on the ballfield achieved.
Because if children
can do it, we adults should certainly be able to accomplish it as well.
(Source: Combined
excerpts from the author's book, "Echoes of The Maggid", and from Dr.
Wayne Dyer's book, "The Power of Intention")
