The New Normal

When I taught my 11th graders about the Vilna Gaon and how he slept two hours out of 24, well-meaning and unfiltered Nechama jumped up (at least, that’s how I remember it; could be it was a figurative leap out of her seat). “But that’s not NORMAL!” she exclaimed, and the rest of the class murmured their agreement.

I concurred wholeheartedly. It isn’t normal at all. But maybe, I suggested, that’s okay? Like, if you’re the Vilna Gaon, maybe normal isn’t the highest value to aspire to?

And yet, if the Gra were alive today, I can just picture his parents at PTA. “Eliyahu is doing great, such an asset to the class,” Rabbi Stein will say with a genial smile. “But maybe a little too… intense. He needs to play more, get some more sleep, chill with the other boys.”

Because normal is one of the biggest compliments you can give anyone. The guy might be the biggest masmid and illui ever to step foot in Brisk, but he’s “so normal.” Ah, baruch Hashem. Normal.