Menny is in Camp Gan Israel in the Catskills, Chaya is in Camp Mare Cabo in Mexico, Chana Laya is in camp Mommy and Aba in Bozeman, and Zeesy has now made it to Camp Simcha, her annual overnight camp experience in Glen Spey, New York. Zeesy has special needs and the love that Camp Simcha showers on her is incredible, giving her something that she can’t get anywhere else. Yet, the Jewish love is everywhere. During his first few days in camp, Menny had some initial struggles, but the staff went above and beyond to work with him, seeking solutions; giving him the TLC he needed to get through some of his hard moments.

In this week’s Torah portion, Balak, we read about Balaam’s prophecies describing the beauty and uniqueness of the Jewish people. A gentile prophet, it was Balaam who uttered the famous words of “Mah Tovu” that we express in our daily prayers, complimenting Jewry poetically, saying “How good are your tents, Jacob, your encampments, Israel”. Practically Balaam was referring to the modesty that he observed in the encampments while the Jews traversed through the desert. Yet, it seems like Balaam was also expressing his awe of how these millions of Jews lived together, and yet the “community” life didn’t create animosity. Yes, they were living in the Jewish “ghetto”, “on top of each other” if you wish, but they saw the goodness in each other and were there for each other wholeheartedly through thick and thin.

Jews can count on each other; it’s just the way it is.

I know Klal Yisroel has its challenges, and we have work to do in the realm of personal, and collective, betterment, but I think we are too hard on ourselves. The selflessness with which we show up for our Jewish family, the “above and beyond” that we incorporate as “normal” kindness, is truly remarkable. Rabbi Shmuli Bronstein is Menny’s Bar Mitzvah tutor. He and his wife Mushkie opened a Chabad center in Downtown Scottsdale where they serve the Jewish community. Shmuli doesn’t only learn with my boy, he cares about him and his success. So, when he heard that Menny was in camp fifteen miles away from where he’s spending a few weeks with family, he immediately made his way to camp to spend time learning, and encouraging, his beloved Bar Mitzvah student. He didn’t need to, he wasn’t asked to, he is there on break, but we are cut from a majestic cloth of love that guides us to do kindness on steroids and that is an attribute we should all celebrate and internalize.

Who is like Your people Israel?

May G-d guard our brethren in Israel and the world over from harm and send us Mashiach speedily. May G-d protect the armed forces of Israel and the United States wherever they may be!

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On Sunday I had the great honor of Farbrenging in Cedarhurst, New York in honor of the Rebbe’s 31st Yahrtzat. My dear friends Chesky & Naomi Newman were our hosts and so many friends from The Five Towns, many of whom have spent a Shabbos or two with us in Bozeman over the years or read my weekly column in the 5TJT, joined for this evening of inspiration. I love that the Orthodox world is falling more in love with nature, as Chavie and I are honored to be on the welcoming side of their excursions to Yellowstone and beyond. When I returned to Bozeman, I did a 6:00 AM, one-hour, hike at Peet’s Hill with my friend Barrett and the beauty that Hashem embedded in His world never ceases to amaze.

In this week’s Torah portion, Chukas, we read about the time that the Jewish people became disgusted with the Manna that G-d gave them from heaven. Imagine being gifted with such an incredible form of sustenance and being so ungrateful, so obsessed with “what isn’t good enough”, that you don’t see the gift that is literally before your eyes.  The Talmud in Kiddushin says in the name of Rav Chizkiyah that “in the world to come, every one of us will have to give an account of everything that our eyes saw in this world and that we didn’t partake in”. It doesn’t mean that we should be gluttonous or unhealthy, but it does mean that we are to cherish the physical reality around us and recognize that G-d has given us so much, with nature being at top of the list.

While Menny and I walked the streets of Brooklyn, we noticed so much garbage, both piles of bags and small wrappers and the like blowing all over. There are ways to keep the streets clean and city leadership must certainly be part of the solution, but it really starts with the people having an attitude shift. New York will always be congested, and we can’t solve the traffic issues, but garbage? If Dubai and Singapore can keep their streets clean, if Norway and Russia can keep their trains safe and friendly, if Montana can keep their rivers clean, then New York can, and should, do it too. There is no excuse for filthy streets with littering galore. If we can recognize how blessed we are with the world G-d has given us, we would all do a lot more to keep it pristine for those who will come after us.

Don’t be an ingrate; take a hike!

May G-d guard our brethren in Israel and the world over from harm and send us Mashiach speedily. May G-d protect the armed forces of Israel and the United States wherever they may be!