My wife and I have just returned from a glorious week spent in the Canadian Rockies and I can fully echo Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch’s remark after a visit to the Swiss Alps: “Now I shall be able to answer affirmatively when Hashem asks me in the World of Truth “Did you also see My Alps?’$$separator$$”
No word is more overused today (though I may be a little behind on teen lingo) than “awesome.” But how else to describe majestic peaks wreathed in clouds under a glorious blue sky and emerald lakes? One cannot help but be filled with a sense of awe for the Creator.
Our base for this magical week was Calgary or more specifically the House of Jacob Mikveh Israel (HOJMI) shul. HOJMI is the kind of out-of-town shul that I love where every person has a story about how they got there. A few members may have had an after-school cheder background but apart from the rabbi rosh kollel and kashrut supervisor I only met one shul member with extensive yeshivah training.
Calgaryis in some ways an ideal community for baalei teshuvah. In a one-shul city the worshippers are of necessity a variegated lot. A small community does not have the luxury of fussing about fine differences. All are accepted. A baal teshuvah can focus on his inner growth without concern about taking on alien styles of dress that might not mesh easily with his job as a car mechanic blacksmith or martial arts teacher.
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