So getting this week’s paper out was a week of difficulty as we looked at the horrible tragedy of the earthquake and Haiti.
Then I met this remarkable young woman named Hudi Arieh.
On Sunday, January 31, she and a teammate are going to participate in the ING marathon in Miami, Fla.
Hudi, a pre-law student, is going to be pushed the 13.1 miles in her wheelchair, racing with hundreds of other wheelers and runners.
The 23-year-old is doing it to raise money for Chai Lifeline. And if you don’t know much about Chai Lifeline, let’s just say they create miracles for kids who could really use them.
This will be Hudi’s third half-marathon. She’s participated in one other in Miami and another one in Las Vegas. So far, she’s raised over $3,200. Her goal is $3,800. to learn more about Hudi and Team Lifeline check out http://www.teamlifeline.org/mypage.php?myid=56395. You will be so glad you did.
And no matter what “place” Hudi finishes at the half-marathon, she’s already such a winning person.
After the week many of us had, it was just so wonderful to meet a vital young person whose out there helping others as well.

In the wake of the horrific images coming from Haiti, there was something I felt I could withdraw from all of this as a positive.
Yes, there were people acting desperately because the times in this terribly poor nation are desperate. Perhaps they were near desperate prior to the earthquake.
But all in all, we’re seeing a vast human spirit, in which people from all over the world are converging on Port Au Prince to do what ever they can to help.
Don’t think it doesn’t make us all burst with pride to know that among the first responders were Israelis. Be it ZAKA, known as the first responders on the backs of motor scooters after terrorist strikes, to the highly skilled medical, rescue and military teams who arrived as the clearest example of Tikkun Olum, bringing light onto the world.
Also, Jewish organizations from as locally as here in Baltimore to around the globe are collecting needed funds to get to the ravaged country.
We know of people who aren’t in a financial position at this time to donate much of anything, yet they still are.
As Rabbi Steve Schwartz of Beth El told some 800 worshippers last Shabbat, if you think your $10 doesn’t matter, just look around this room. Do the math. $10 can become multiplied into hundreds if not thousands of dollars.
We are doing what God has mandated for us as Jews. We are watching out for fellow man, feeding him and healing him and helping him get back on his feet.
And we’re doing it with difficult unemployment numbers here in Baltimore, financial assistance requests at an all-time high and in the cold, gray middle of winter.
Yet there’s the figurative sun ray of hope coming through into the darkness.
We kindled our Chanukah candles last month and brought light into that darkness.
The afterglow of that light remains in us all.

Of all the many people who stood out in an impressive way this week during City Hall’s sudden turnover of power, there is one who I feel deserves a tremendous amount of credit and respect.
Councilwoman Rochelle “Rikki” Spector is a person we typically see within the community. Be it a neighborhood association meeting or a shul dinner, or a zoning issue, she is and has been there for us for many years.
Like you, I have known our councilwoman for many, many years.
This past week, I felt the stage was different. There she was standing by the podium and next to Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, who will take over as mayor on February 4 after Sheila Dixon steps down.
I guess it’s that old saying about the grass being greener on the other side. When you see the respect and the reverence that Ms. Spector is given by her colleagues, City Hall workers, even the security personnel at City Hall’s front door, it gives a glimpse to the important service she has given. Even her longtime companion, Oscar Brilliant, was given handshakes and hugs by many people at Ms. Rawlings-Blake’s press conference on Thursday.
During interviews with Ms. Rawlings-Blake, among the first names to come out in terms of gratitude was “Rikki Spector” as a long-time mentor to the new mayor.
Ms. Spector said that she is already hitting the ground running, that she has work to do, and is happy that the new mayor has a friendly familiarity with the Jewish community and the entire 5th District.
Ms. Spector is an important leader in our community, but also for the entire city. And I think her very presence at City Hall brings almost a calming confidence to her colleagues and to City government.
So, what worries me?
What concerns me is just something that might not be so simple.
Who is going to be the next “Rikki?”
I don’t know if it’s appropriate to say that the City Council should always have a Jew as one of its members. But I do think it’s important that there is someone familiar with the community’s unique nuances and concerns.
I don’t know exactly how to “groom” a candidate for office. Maybe it takes community association participation. Maybe it’s who you know. It probably wouldn’t hurt for someone with aspirations of office to make connections with leaders such as Ms. Rawlings-Blake, State Senator Lisa Gladden, Delegate Sandy Rosenberg, Dr. Arthur Abramson of the Jewish Council and others.
There are issues, ranging in scope from our community’s security to neighborhood development, the eruv, black-Jewish relations and even chometz burning.
The Associated: Jewish Community Federation has for many years trained its up and coming leaders to step in to leadership in a seamless way.
Perhaps there’s some way that a Jewish presence in the City Council could be ensured if work is being done in the off-election years.
In the meantime, we hope for a continued long and outstanding career for Rochelle “Rikki” Spector. We don’t want her to continue full steam ahead.
She’s an important City leader, and she’ll be an asset for the Rawlings-Blake administration.

All of this enhanced airport screening reminds me of an experience way before September 11, 2001.
As many of us who have friends in Israel, it is not uncommon for a friend to ask you to take a package or a gift over to a loved one in Israel.
One year, my wife and I took baby clothes over to a friend’s relative.
Another time, we were asked to bring over 10 boxes of Shake N Bake chicken coating to another friend.
I think it would be a fun story to write the items that some of us have transported for friends.
For me, the best one, occurred while we were still living in Detroit. A friend was instrumental in the creation of youth baseball leagues in Israel. So when he came to me and asked me if I’d take over a few things, I never thought I’d get the duffle bag that was left at my front door.
I looked in the duffle bag, and there was literally a heavy rubber home plate, three bases, a few gloves, some metal bats and of course, baseballs.
My first thought was, “this weighs a ton.” But my second thought, was “Oy, how am I going to explain this to the El Al security people?” I don’t know about you, but when they start asking me questions about the name of Hebrew School teacher or the last Jewish holiday, I go into early stages of forgetfulness.
How was I going to explain baseballs, bases, gloves, bats and home plate?
The moment of truth arrived. The guy asked me if I had packed my own bags or if I had accepted a bag from someone else. I told him everything.
“No.
“I’ve got a bag of baseball equipment.”
For the security guy, a nice young man, this was obviously a first. He looked into the bag, called over a supervisor.
I was asked where I was taking the baseball equipment. I told them I had to take it to a youth baseball league at the YMCA in Jerusalem.
I thought they were then going to quiz me about baseball trivia, and the whole trip to Israel would come down to naming someone Jewish other than Sandy Koufax or Hank Greenberg in the Major Leagues.
But after they looked at the equipment. I packed it back up, and all I know is home plate made it to the home land.
Now, if this had happened after September 11, 2001, I don’t think first base would have gotten through.
And who could blame anyone for that? I mean, metal bats and balls become expendable when there’s a security risk.
It’s a shame, though, that we even have to worry about something like this.
I remember reaching into the duffle bag on the YMCA field and pulling out a baseball glove and giving it away to one of the kids there.
It was all just a perfect fit.