Donny’s smile is a motivating force and a catalyst for all of us to do teshuvah and improve, as who knows what the next minute will bring?
Hailing from the Bergenfield-Teaneck community, Donny Morris met his untimely death at the kever of Rabi Shimon Bar Yochai on Lag B’omer, 5781. After the news went out, I found myself looking again and again at a close-up of Donny against the crowds, shortly before the tragedy occurred. Donny’s face is cherubic in its purity; he appears celestial and otherworldly as he seemingly hovers over the masses behind him. It’s a photo of contrasts: both somber and serene, sedate and supportive, simultaneously reminding me of our delicate reality in this world, while also inspiring and uplifting me.
Donny’s beautiful smile and the happiness of everyone behind him now remain an everlasting message to us, warning us never to forget how gossamer-delicate life is. His picture, more than any other, screams at me, “Hashem can change the world instantaneously!”
And so He did at Meron and so He did with the plague of COVID-19.
In this capacity, Donny’s smile is a motivating force and a catalyst for all of us to do teshuvah and improve, as who knows what the next minute will bring?
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