"Love God with all your heart, soul, and might," is how my father's Rosh Hashanah sermon began. You see, it was my father's first High Holiday service as a rabbi, and he was asked to give a sermon about his journey. On this day, I wasn't exactly looking forward to his sermon, as I had heard the story a thousand times.
It always started with "Love God with all your heart, soul, and might," because that's what he did. Ever since he began his journey, Big Al had loved God more than anyone I'd ever known. It was kinda weird at times, but also really cool that he was taking this step in his life.
"There are many ways to interpret this statement from the V'Havta," was always Big Al's follow-up. The truth is, I still think that the statement is pretty straightforward, but people usually start to question themselves when he says that their interpretation isn't the only one. It's kind of a strange effect he has on people.
There was quite a bit on my mind that day at Temple Beth Zion's Rosh Hashanah Services. It had only been about a week and a half since the Labor Day Disneyland trip. I would've been sitting in services with a heavy heart, but since my heart had been taken by Rivka Pasternak, it was hard to feel much of anything but sadness and confusion.
The sad thing was that I was heart-broken over a girl who I had met twice in my life. The first time was a B's party. She saved me from the clutches of my ex-sorta girlfriend Carrie Wilcox. Rivka and I had our first kiss that night. We didn't talk much until the day before the Disneyland trip, and then we saw each other at Disneyland and kissed again, only it was more meaningful that time. I eventually found myself chasing her around Disneyland trying to capture our moment again, only to find out that there was a guy waiting for her back in San Diego. It wasn't a proud moment.
Like I said, it was pretty crazy. I should've been the way that Darren (my twin brother), JT (my younger brother), and Shayna (my mother) were. They had tears of joy in their eyes as they watched Big Al speak about life. Unfortunately, I had tears of regret in my eyes. I can honestly say that no girl has ever gotten me to cry; not until that fateful day when Rivka Pasternak served me a San Diego Special.
"I have always had a deep appreciation for Judaism, but it wasn't until the events of last year that made me realize what I have been put on this Earth to do," my father the Rabbi spoke.
You may be confused about the "events of last year" and what he may be pertaining to. This time last year, Big Al was a healthcare consultant, and he had been one for almost 20 years. He had a pretty good business, self-employed even. It was called "Big Al's Big Consulting Group." He had gotten started with it because of my Grandpa, Sam Maccabbi, who was a veterenarian for many years. In fact, Grandpa Sam was Big Al's first client. Big Al opened an animal hospital for Grandpa called Sam-I-Am-A-Vet (cheesy, I know, but I always thought it was kinda cool).
Well, as good as my father was at consulting, it really burned him out. It caused a lot of stress, which caused a lot of smoking on his part. He was having to travel a lot, which he always hated doing, which wasn't good for him. He was becoming more and more out of shape, and his lungs eventually got so burnt out that one night, he stopped breathing. This turned into a one-month coma, by the way.
Upon leaving the hospital, Big Al decided that he would be a rabbi. He found a program that would take 6-8 months to complete. Once his program was completed, he was able to secure a job for himself right at Temple Beth Zion, the place where I call my second home.
"Upon leaving the hospital, I decided to be a rabbi. I found a program that took 8 months to complete, and then I was able to secure a job right here at Temple Beth Zion, the place my kids have always called their second home."
Wow, the old man must be able to read my mind or something!
"You know, doubt is a funny thing," Big Al continued. "People are always questioning. They question why we are here, they ask why do things happen, and they ask why we don't get everything we want or deserve."
Wouldn't you know it? The old man must be talking about me right now. Perfect example: Why did I chase Rivka around Disneyland when it wasn't even worth it? Why did she kiss me, knowing that I would be led to believe that there was something more? Why did she have to crush my heart when I offered it to her; why couldn't she have just politely declined it and handed it back to me in one peice?
"My realization is that God has a plan. We are all part of it, and even if we get disappointed every once in a while..." That's an understatement! "We must remember that everything that happens to us brings us closer to a bigger purpose. My being sick brought me closer to my goal of being your rabbi. On that note, let us turn to the Musaf service."
HOLD THE PHONE! What did he just say???
"On that note, let us turn to the Musaf service."
No, not that. The thing before that.
"We must remember that everything that happens to us brings us closer to a bigger purpose."
For some reason, I had never heard this part of the sermon. Big Al had never told me about "God's plan" or anything like that. Well, maybe he had, but I had never paid attention to that part before. I suddenly put things into perspective. Maybe I wasn't happy about the fact that nothing happened between me and Rivka, but it obviously wasn't meant to be. I know that God will find another girl for me, after all, being with girls is what the Mac-Attack is all about. I'm sure that's part of God's plan.
I guess I will just have to keep on praying!
Sincerely,
Mac-Attack
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