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Bris Speech"Shimon Raphael Greengart," named on 1/6/03 (3 Shvat)Thank you all for coming – through rain, snow, sleet, “mixed precipitation,” ice, slush, hail, frightening weather forecasts, slippery roads, barad, arbeh, and choshech. I had a speech prepared that compared phallic imagery in film to our sanctification by bris, but Leah didn’t like it, so we’ll skip that part. That should help me be brief, which is good, as many of you need to go to work. Come to think of it, I have to go to work – which is a nice segue into Hakarat HaTov. This past Shabbos we said Hallel for Rosh Chodesh, and as I said Hodu Lashem Ki Tov, I thought about the past year, and how Hashem has blessed my family this past year. First, I had a year of paid vacation thanks to Intel, the State of New Jersey, and my dear friend President Bush. This enabled me to play with my son every day, set up my home theater projector, and sample all the pizza stores in Monsey after Chai Lifeline runs. Just when my vacation funds were about to run out, I got a job at Jupiter Research where one of my job responsibilities is to play with toys. And just three years after we were despondent of ever having children, we are blessed with a second beautiful boy. I should probably also mention my wife. (There, I've mentioned her.) There aren’t many people who willingly set themselves up for major abdominal surgery. Friends come to visit and eat her food – yes, I get those desserts all the time. They see the home theater gear in the basement, the Star Wars toys who’ve taken over shelves, mantles, and walls, my obsession with the Redskins; and they say, wow, what an… understanding wife. That barely scratches the surface. Yes, I’ve been blessed with another tremendous bracha today, but I have been blessed continuously for 6 ½ years to be married to this woman. On to the name: Shimon Raphael is named after Leah’s grandfather Shimon - Cantor Simon Kandler, and my grandfather Chaim Raphael - Rabbi Hyman Friedman. You’ll note that we didn’t name him Shimon Chaim Raphael, for several reasons: 1) We took pity on the boy. Nobody should be named Simon Hyman. 2) We took pity on future gabbaim; nobody should have to remember Shimon Chaim Raphael ben Avraham Reuven. 3) Finally, Leah’s grandfather lived to heckle the speakers and crack jokes at his 100th birthday party – when you name a child after this Shimon, “chaim” is implied. Cantor Kandler, Papa, as we knew him, was generous in spirit and in pocketbook. When you talked to him, he gave you his undivided attention, and made you feel that he was genuinely interested. Moreover, you were in the presence of The Cantor, and The Cantor was genuinely interested in you. He remembered your name 40 years after meeting you, and spoke to you in whatever language you were most comfortable in – he knew nine fluently. He was generous with his pocketbook, as well. He paid for his grandchildren’s college and set aside money for some of his great grandchildrens’ college. He lived through the entire 20th century – he was an aspiring opera singer in post-war Berlin – that’s post WWI – a chaplain in the U.S. Army in WWII, and a practicing cantor in Boston for over 50 years afterwards. There are people who can say that he was at their bris, taught them bar mitzvah lessons, officiated at their wedding, attended their son’s bris, etc., etc. Not a bad legacy to leave an 8 day old boy. My grandfather, Rabbi Chaim Rafael Friedman, was also a congregational leader for decades upon decades, first in Atlanta, GA, and then also in the Boston area, where he fought for Orthodoxy by example in a world gone conservative. There are people who are frum today only because he and his wife opened their home and made them part of the family. He set the tone for his large family, and, even after he died, “the family” continues on as “the family” as if we’re the Sopranos. But there are other reasons to name a child after Zaida. He was a true ben Torah – I loved his stories and divrei torah about people he learned with at YU – in the 1930’s – people my dorm was named after. I attended shiurim with Zaida where it appeared as though he was completely asleep, until he corrected the magid shiur. And “The Rabbi” had a somewhat surprisingly ribald sense of humor. Here, too, a generosity with money is a legacy I would like to pass down to my children. Zaida gave to every single charity who asked – his philosophy was to never turn anyone down. I remember picking up two days mail from his apartment when he was living at my parents’ house – I have never seen so many solicitations in my life, and I’m sure he’s still getting them today, deceased or not. Our grandfathers shared many traits: § They were both generous § Served their communities § Lived long, full lives § Every single member of their offspring is religious § And, perhaps most important of all to aspire to, they were both really nice people to be around. Thank you again for sharing this simcha with us. There’s aluminum foil so you can pack a lunch. |
