Michael Totally Rocked the Torah Im Derech Eretz Speech!

OK, so permit me to be the "braggy" mother for a minute...

Michael's speech on Shabbos at the Kehilla Shalosh Seudos was ***Awesome***!!!

I walked into the room, took my seat at the table and a kindly (albeit ditsy) woman of a "certain age" in the community leans over to me and asks me, "So where is your son now?", which of course, we all know is a euphemism for "Where is your son learning now?".... {Hey, that's an idea! I should have said, "oh, he might be in the bathroom, but he'll be out shortly...." ...but I didn't} What I said to her was, "He's in NYU Medical Center's Human Resources Division". Hmmmmm.... that ended that conversation. Fast forward to the end of Michael's speech: Same sweet old lady.... "Wow your son's speech was WONDERFUL!! He speaks like he LEARNS!!" to which I proudly responded, "That's because he does".

I like it when people are afforded the opportunity to see that working and learning are not mutually exclusive - That one can truly uphold the Hirschian Legacy. I hope Michael's actions inspire others to try the same most difficult balancing act.

For those who may be interested, Michael gave me a glimpse into his three necessary criteria for giving a good speech. I'm not saying they'll work for everybody, but they sure work for him:

• Be animated. (Michael is a pleasure to watch and listen to)
• Use ONE metaphor that will stick in the listeners head (In Michael's case this weekend, it was comparing Har Chermon - the landmark for outsiders looking towards Eretz Yisroel, to the Statue of Liberty's significance to outsiders arriving at New York City).
• Use one reference/tie in to a specific part of tefillah, so that each day when the listener davens, he/she will be reminded of the speech and the message therein.