The Rest of The Story

This week I was fortunate to participate in a Yarchei Kallah program for Rabbis, hosted by Yeshiva University's Center for the Jewish Future. I learned a lot and I look forward to sharing what I learned in various ways and in various venues. But the first lesson that I want to share is one I thought of while on my way back to Florida. Sitting on the plane. Watching ESPN (thank you JetBlue).

On the show, Outside The Lines, there is a segment called "The Rest of The Story". The segment I watched was about a man named Scott Park. You can watch the 15 minute segment here
Scott is an avid college basketball fan. His team is the NC State Wolfpack. He won a contest to attend the ACC Tournament and have a chance to try to make a half court basketball shot and win a million dollars. Scott was very short on his shot. A reporter decided to record the attempt on his phone and then posted to Vine, a video sharing platform where people can post 6 second videos.

And then it happened- the video went viral with millions of views. Many of those viewers felt the need to post mean comments about Scott and his attempt that fell well short. But these people did not know the rest of the story.

The rest of the story is that Scott had contracted CAPS, a very serious disease. He was the first person in the world to successfully undergo a a kidney transplat with this disease. He knew he did not have the strength to make a half court shot. But as this article in the Sporting News put it "he tried anyway. That's what he does."

Check out the video or the article for the rest of Scott Park's inspiring story.

Often in life we are put in positions in which we have the opportunity to judge based on our impressions, based on what we see. We need to remember that there is always a rest of the story, and we are often not privy to those details.

This week my shul is participating in a project to bring awareness and sensitivity to the isse of infertility in the Jewish community, spearheaded by the organization Yesh Tikva. An important first step is to realize that we often don't know the rest of the story when it comes to acquaintances, or even friends, and their struggles with infertility.

In Parshat Tazria we are introduced to the Metzorah. According to the Midrash, one cause of tzaraat is Lashon Hara. One way to avoid Lashon Harah and to give people the benefit of the doubt is to remember that we often don't know the rest of the story.

At the beginning of the hagadah, in Ha Lachma Anya, we declare "Let all who are hungry come and eat." One of the ways we express our freedom is by being able to be sensitive and concerned for our fellow Jew. As slaves, we could only care about surviving. On Pesach we celebrate how our freedom has allowed us the opportunity to care for others.