Seidemann: Where I am now and where I am going

Posted

From the other side of the bench

By David Seidemann

Issue of January 29, 2010/ 14 Shvat 5770

So many of the Jewish slaves in Egypt were idol worshipers that the angels in heaven could not differentiate between them and the Egyptians. It was for this reason that the Jews were instructed to mark their doorposts with the blood of the Paschal lamb. The commentator Rashi explains that during the plague of darkness the Jewish idol worshippers “who did not wish to be redeemed” were killed. It was done under the cover of darkness so that the Egyptians wouldn’t see the Jewish slaves meeting their untimely end. Parenthetically, this serves as a great lesson that we need to take the lead in exposing the deficiencies within our ranks. If there are “evil” Jews that need to be punished, it would be nice if we could do it in the dark. On the other hand, covering up and failing to deal with problems that we know about, or problems that others have already exposed, would be even more catastrophic.

Returning to the plague of darkness, one could legitimately ask, if the children of Israel were also idol worshippers, why indeed were they redeemed? And why does Rashi add the phrase “who did not wish to be redeemed” in explaining the wickedness of the Jewish idol worshippers? The answer is obvious. While every Jew might have been an idol worshipper, some of them wanted to be redeemed. Others were content to remain idol worshippers.

The sin therefore was not in being an idol worshipper. Rather, the sin was in not wanting to be redeemed. All of us have shortcomings. All of us have failings. Some of them might be akin to idol worship. But as long as one wants to be redeemed, as long as one believes there is hope to progress, to climb out of any hole, no matter how deep, one is a candidate for redemption.

The sin is not worshipping an idol; the sin is remaining idle.

One must seize every opportunity, using all of his strengths and talents, to put himself in a position where good things can happen. No one knows where any effort might lead.

Case in point. When I was a sophomore at Yeshiva University I accepted a job as a youth director in a shul in Poughkeepsie, New York. That job led to my becoming the regional director of the Catskill Region of NCSY. That job led to my being offered the job of regional director of the Central East region of NCSY, which led to my being offered the job as director of admissions of Touro college, which led me to receive a full scholarship to law school. While in law school, contacts I made in NCSY, and my ability to write and speak, led to the offer of a position as a pulpit rabbi in Lawrenceville, New Jersey.

The contacts that I made across the country working for NCSY and Touro College and the writing and speaking abilities I honed as the rabbi of a synagogue helped me in my legal career. They enabled me to build contacts upon contacts and afforded me many unique opportunities including, but not limited to, writing for this newspaper. Along the way I served as the president of the Hebron Fund for five years and am still an active board member. While on the board I made even more contacts, traveled to Israel, traveled to Washington and once again kept my name “out there,” as the expression goes.

All of that came together approximately 10 days ago. One of the contacts that I made over the years read my article, “Erase the conflict within” (Jan. 13, 2010), wherein I appealed to the Jewish community to identify articulate and presentable candidates from within our ranks to run for public office. It’s difficult to judge oneself but this contact of mine, after reading the article, forwarded the article to politically influential people across the country. In addition to the article, he attached a tagline: “I know the author of this article, he is the person we are looking for.”

The last few days have been a whirlwind of activity. I have met the local leaders of various political parties, sitting politicians, and former congressmen and senators. I am scheduled to meet three more in the next week and then I will have a very serious, career-changing decision to make.

At this point in time I do not know what the future holds. But one thing I know for sure. Every decision I have made since my bar mitzvah, and possibly from before that; every contact I have made over the last four or five decades; every opportunity I took to find a skill that I was comfortable with, and all the work I put in to develop that skill, played a part in the opportunities being afforded to me in the last few days.

I relay the above with the ultimate sense of humility and gratitude to everyone who opened a door for me over the years and allowed me to put myself in the position where I find myself today. This newspaper and especially its editor, Mayer Fertig, played a major role in that process and for that I am eternally grateful.

Worse than worshipping an idol is remaining idle. So go out there, find a skill that you are comfortable with, put the effort in to developing it, make contacts, and put yourself in the position to be offered opportunities. Whether or not the opportunity pans out is secondary. At the very least, you are one step closer to reaching your potential.

David Seidemann is a partner with the law firm of Seidemann & Mermelstein. He can be reached at (718) 692-1013 and at ds@lawofficesm.com.