God

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I want to give a brief introduction to the following				lobbed the ball so Shaya could make contact. Shaya
story.				swung the bat clumsily and missed the ball by a wide
This story comes from the Orthodox Jewish				margin.
community in Brooklyn, New York. It is interesting				"Hold on,” said one of the boys. “Let
that although I first heard this story almost a decade				me help him. Let me show him how to bat."
ago and haven’t thought about it for several				This boy came and stood behind Shaya, and put his
years, this story was sent to me last week by two				arms around him so together they were holding the
different people, one from New Jersey and one from				bat.
Florida. I have decided to share this story with you.				The pitcher moved in a couple more feet and lobbed
This story was first told at a funding raising dinner				the ball as softly as he could.
for Chush, a special needs school in New York,				The two boys swung the bat together and managed
catering to the Orthodox Jewish community. One of				to make contact with the ball, tapping it gently
the speakers at that dinner was the father of Shaya,				toward the pitcher.
a learning disabled boy about whom this story				“Run, Shaya, run to first!” shouted
revolves.				Shaya’s teammates.
The father started his speech like so many others,				Run to first? Shaya run to first!? Shaya had never run
praising the school and the dedication of the staff.				to first in his life. But Shaya began running to first.
But then he went off on a tangent in a way that				Shaya was not even half way to first base when the
touched the lives of everyone in that room.				ball reached the pitcher’s feet. The game was
“We know that God is perfect. We all believe				all but over. The pitcher picked up the ball. He now
this. But I ask you, look at my son. He can’t				had a choice. He could throw Shaya out at first and
learn like other children. He can’t remember				end the game that way or he could easily outrun
facts like other children. He will never understand				Shaya and tag him out. However, the pitcher decided
things that they can understand. Look at my son and				to end the game in a different way.
tell me, where is God’s perfection?”				He took the ball and with all his might threw it as far
The shocked audience sat silent, facing the pain of a				as he could over the first baseman’s head far
father in anguish.				into right field.
“I believe,” the father continued softly,				“Run, Shaya, run,” the pitcher shouted.
"that when God brings a child like my son into the				The right fielder was still chasing after the ball when
world, the perfection that He seeks is in not what				Shaya reached first.
the child might do, but the way people react to this				“Shaya, run to second!” his teammates
child."				shouted.
The father then told this story about his son, Shaya.				Shaya began to run to second, some of his
One Sunday afternoon, he and his son were walking				teammates running with him. The other three base
by a park where the Orthodox Jewish boys in the				runners had already scored. Now the game was tied.
neighborhood were playing baseball.				Shaya was only a quarter of the way to second
"Do you think they would let me play?" Shaya asked.				base when the right fielder had the ball. Instead of
Shaya's father knew that his son didn’t know				throwing the ball to second to tag Shaya out, the
how to play baseball. His son couldn’t play				right fielder took the ball and threw it way over the
baseball. But he also knows that these boys have				third baseman’s head and out of the park.
always been kind to Shaya. If he as Shaya’s				When Shaya reached second, the opposing shortstop
father didn’t speak up for his son, who				ran up to him, turned him in the direction of third
would?				base and shouted, "Run to third!"
So he walked over to one of the boys and asked,				Shaya began to run to third and his entire team
"What do you think about letting Shaya in the				came onto the field and was running with him. Shaya
game?"				reached third base.
The boy didn't know what to say. He looked around				Now all eighteen boys were running behind Shaya.
to his teammates for guidance. He didn’t get				“Shaya, run home! Shaya, run home!”
any.				everyone shouted.
Finally the boy answered, "Well, we're about to start				Shaya stepped on home plate to the cheers of
the 8th inning, and we're losing by six runs. I don't				eighteen boys. They picked him up and carried him on
think we're going to win this game, so what's the				their shoulders. He had hit a home run.
difference? We’ll get him aglove and he can				Shaya, the special needs boy who had never played
play on our team behind second base. We’ll let				baseball before, was the hero of the game.
him bat in the ninth inning.”				None of us know why we were put on this Earth.
Shaya’s face beamed. His father helped him				Many teach that part of our job is to try to emulate
put on the baseball glove and Shaya joined his team,				our Creator’s perfection. Many of us have
playing short center field.				difficultly with our children. Some of these children
But things began to change. In the bottom of the				have ADHD. Some of them have other problems.
eighth inning, Shaya's team scored three runs. They				However, our children and we have a purpose why
again rallied in the ninth inning. Now in the bottom of				we were created. Most of us will probably never
the ninth inning, Shaya’s team had bases				really know what that purpose is.
loaded with two outs. It was Shaya’s turn at				Still, I wanted to share this true story with you that
bat.				took place about ten years ago: The story of
They will never let him bat, thought the father. But				eighteen boys who for a few brief moments one
without hesitation, one of the boys shouted, "Shaya,				Sunday afternoon, at a playground in Brooklyn, were
you're up!" and he handed Shaya the bat.				able to give us a glimpse of God’s perfection.
Shaya had never held a bat before. Shaya walked to

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