Perfection at the Plate

Reprinted by permission of Artscroll

Sports in America is not only a multibillion dollar industry, but rare is the child growing up in the United States who has never been involved in some type of sports competition, be it baseball, basketball, punchball, handball, football or hockey. For this reason, people who have grown up in America, both young and old, are swept up and moved as their mind's eye visualizes the unfolding of these incredible events.

However, it is not only an American that can fully appreciate the intensity of this marvelous "sports" story. This tender story also has universal appeal, because it deals with the universal values of sensitivity, self-esteem, and acceptance.

In Brooklyn, New York, Chush is a school that caters to learning-disabled children. Some children remain in Chush for their entire school careers, while others can be mainstreamed into conventional yeshivos and Bais Yaakovs. There are a few children who attend Chush for most of the week and go to a regular school on Sundays.

At a Chush fund-raising dinner, the father of a Chush child delivered a speech that would never be forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school and its dedicated staff, he cried out, "Where is the perfection in my son Shaya? Everything that Hashem does is done with perfection. But my child cannot understand things as other children do. My child cannot remember facts and figures as other children do. Where is Hashem's perfection?"

The audience was shocked by the question, pained by the father's anguish and stilled by his piercing query.

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