So I had the most amazing beginning of Simchat Torah, that I just wanted to share it.
First, my daughter and son and law and I were walking along Cross Country Blvd. towards Clarks Lane Thursday night when a Baltimore City Police office pulled his car over to us. A sergeant leaned out of the window to tell me that he had was at the Shalom USA program two weeks prior and that he was happy with the positive energy he felt in the room towards the issue of approaching and doing something about child molestation.
I was so impressed that he even remembered me especially on a busy night in our community.
But even more impressive was the man we ran into at Chabad on Clarks Lane. There, standing alone in the parking lot was Yitz Jordan, better known as Y-Love, the African-American Chassidic rap singer.
My daughter recognized him immediately, approached him and a wonderful, lively conversation mostly about love for the Jewish people happened. He then gave us the added pleasure of a personal performance of one of his rap songs.
I’m too old fashioned for rap, but I felt so good this Simchat Torah night just meeting Y-Love and hearing his words.
We then did a little shul hopping, but along the way stopped at friends’ homes for warm greetings and just an overall sense of that this was Baltimore’s Jewish community in a good place.
We were in need of some yeast and flour for challah baking that night, and a knock on the door here or there, provided us with more than what we needed.
Anyway, in a community where there is a little bit of a concern over racial tension, my Simachat Torah was actually set on a path of righteousness by two African-American men, one Jewish, one not. But both the sergeant and the singer gave me a sense of warmth and security.
It was a good night.