Mashiach Now

Today, Sunday, June 2nd 2017, was the continuation of a time which never really ended. Granted there are new faces, new hopes, new dreams - but the summer of 2016 never ended. Achuzat Sara officially opened her doors today to year 2 of Kol HaNearim - but it's like we never left. Yaakov Sternberg and I were actually discussing at our first lunch in the פנימיה the insane realization that every single child on the פנימיה, whether they were in your קבוצה or not, remembered you, and to a tee. They remembered high fives and handshakes, old jokes and memories - it's really like we never left. Seeing one of the children run into Andrew Haberman's arms and literally cling to him out of sheer joy and love made me think of another significant clinging in our history. Ruth and Orpah were the daughters in law of Na'amah - the story of which we read recently on Shavuot. When both Ruth and Orpah's husbands had died Na'ama told them to go back to their people and their land. Orpah gave Na'ama a kiss and returned, whereas we see Ruth "clung" to Na'ama. She would not budge, for better or for worse, Ruth was with Na'ama until the very end. Seeing this young boy cling to Andrew made me understand that over the course of this entire year, we clung to each other. There was a separation by sea and land but not by spirit. Here at Achuzat Sara the goal is simple: we simply give a kiss and wave off the cycle of stress that these beautiful children have been living through and we cling to the aspects of life, the good aspects, which will enable them to grow into amazing mothers and fathers, ultimately amazing members of society and people overall. From Ruth comes David and from David we will one day see Mashiach. It's all because of a "clinging." The time in between last summer and the present was a time of "clinging," of not letting go of what we accomplished last summer and of looking forward toward the next. Through this "clinging" we've now come to Achuzat Sara 2017, where through the new faces, the new hopes and dreams, we are bringing Mashiach one step closer. It's all because of a "clinging." It is my biggest hope to HaShem that this never ending summer at Achuzat Sara go far beyond the last - it is through the new "clingings" that we're making Gan Eden not just some fantasy that we hope to live in one day, but a very real reality that everyone at Achuzat Sara will actually be living in today. Physically I'm back, but my neshama never left. Achuzat Sara get ready for the clinging of a lifetime.