No Words

Last week, our BRS staff luncheon began
with an icebreaker to welcome some new members to our team.  Each person was asked the following question:
If you could meet and spend time with one person you have never met, someone
you look up to, someone not related to you and who is among the living, who
would it be?  As we went around, some
said great religious personalities, others said famous people. 

When my turn came, I said there is a
person whose blog I read, whose story inspires me, whom I have even written about, but have never
met: Rabbi Yitzi Hurwitz.  Despite the
unimaginable challenges he faces and the condition he lives with, he has unshakable
faith and a true joy for life.  The icebreaker
concluded, we held the meeting and then someone suddenly said, “Hey Rabbi,
aren’t you going to LA this weekend, why not go meet him?” And that is exactly
what we did.

This past Friday, my wife, a few of my
children and I prepared to greet the holy Shabbos by visiting with a holy
person.  None of us will soon forget the
time we spent with Rav Yitzi and his devoted aide.  ALS has left R’ Yitzi, a young Chabad Rabbi, completely
paralyzed.  He relies on a permanent
ventilator to breathe and a feeding tube for nourishment.  He communicates with his eyes, not only by
moving them to control a screen that enables him to type, but also by simply
looking into the eyes of those around him.  
His eyes project warmth, love, kindness, and a deep faith.

Those who have the ability to speak easily
and effortlessly often speak too freely, wasting that precious gift on idle
chatter, gossip, envy, complaints or even hurtful words.  But, when you can only express your thoughts
by painstakingly and patiently using your eyes to choose letters that combine
into words and ultimately form sentences, you measure those words much more
carefully and mindfully.  

Each time Yitzi had something to share, it
took significant time to type, type, delete, type, form a word and finally communicate
the thought.  Given the effort, it was
clear he was choosing his words carefully. 
I won’t waste space with what we said, but I want to share with you what
he chose to write.

He began, “Yocheved, tell me about your
children.”  After she answered, he then
looked over at my young son and asked for a Dvar Torah.  My son talked about the Parsha and then Rav
Yitzi reciprocated with a Dvar Torah of his own that he had already typed
out.  Next, he turned to his aide and
asked him to bring out treats for the children. 
When we told him there was no need and that meeting him was the biggest
treat they could have, he told us that he was so happy we came.  We talked some more and referenced his wife’s
inspiring talk in our community a few years ago and he responded by telling us
that his wife is amazing.

Here is a person who has every reason in
the world to complain, express sadness, project hopelessness or revolve the
conversation around himself.  And yet,
the common theme of everything Rav Yitzi had to say to us incorporated positivity,
kindness, compliments, and Torah. 

Faith and hope were not just the tone and
tenor he took with us.  Rav Yitzi’s
writings are filled with these messages and, given his condition and the effort
necessary to produce them, they could not be more authentic and compelling.

For example, he recently wrote thoughts
that were shared in his name by his son just a few weeks ago at Chabad’s annual
Kinnus Ha’Shluchim of over 5,800 people:

One thing I have learned from my experience is that there is hardly a person who doesn’t have struggles. Whether it be health, money, shalom bayis, shidduchim, children, or something else. In my case it’s open and impossible to hide, so I am on display. But that doesn’t mean that your struggles are any less. 

You need to know that whatever you are dealing with, it’s directly from Hashem. That means that He wants something from you that can only be realized through your difficulty. It doesn’t mean that your mission and purpose has to end, rather that there is something else being asked of you, a new stage of your purpose and mission. You don’t have to fight it, rather, you should find a way for your struggle to take you to the next level… 

This is positivity in the face of any challenge, not only to deal with your challenge, or to learn from your challenge, but to use your difficulty to lift you and your family to heights previously unimaginable, and even more, to use your difficulties as a platform to lift others up. Because there is nothing better than lifting the spirit of a Jewish person. 

When I went for the first round of tests, I was given a devastating diagnosis, “You have bulbar ALS.” 

I didn’t understand what the doctor was saying, so I asked him to explain. He said, “It’s very serious, you are going to lose your muscles and you will be paralyzed, it’s the most aggressive form of the disease, you have two years to live.” As you could imagine, I was shaken to the core. 

When I left the office I was all alone, walking into the empty hallway I broke down in a fit of bitter tears. When I composed myself, I exited the building, and I saw a man falling on the ground having a seizure and I ran to help him. At that moment, I realized that there is still a lot that I can do. 

I resolved right there and then that no matter what the results of any further “tests,” I am going to remain positive and find a way to make a difference. I couldn’t imagine how high that way of thinking would take me. 

We live in a world of darkness, with too
many people struggling with feelings of hopelessness and helplessness.  We will soon begin Chanukah and we will
attempt to dispel the darkness of negativity with the light of Emunah and
hope.  For eight days our mandate will be
to illuminate the world with gratitude, joy, and faith.   For eight days our mission will be to publicize
Hashem’s great miracles and through them remind all of God’s unparalleled power
and His limitless ability to intervene in our lives and bring personal
redemption and blessing.

Several years ago, Rav Yitzi’s family
found an old memory card and discovered an original song he had composed. Not
surprisingly, it is called “Shine a Little Light,” and calls on all to make the
world a brighter place.  Famous Jewish
musicians worked together to produce a wonderful version of the song and music video tribute to him.

Though Rabbi Yitzi Hurwitz can only
communicate through his eyes, he continues to inspire with his indomitable
spirit, his courage and faith and his joyful soul.  He is proof that while some are fully mobile
and functional and yet only spread darkness, one can be fully paralyzed and
limited and still be filling the world with light. 

This Chanukah, let’s not only light the
Menorah, let’s light up the world with goodness, positivity, kindness, faith
and Torah’s timeless messages.

(Rav Yitzi’s medical costs are enormous.
If you would like to help his family care for him and enable him to continue
spreading his light, please consider contributing here – https://run4yitzi.com)