What Inspires Me - Zisse Hanfling

A while ago we introduced the "What Inspires Me" program, in which we will be sharing our personal inspirations and hopefully inspire others as well.  I started by reading a  passage from Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau's newly translated memoir, "Out of the Depths" (go here and search inside the book for Naboth - go back to page 162 and read the story about his Rebbi Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach).

Here is our second installment - Zisse shared this with the school after tefilla last week but agreed to write it up for the blog.  Yasher koach.

This video is of Ayelet who was two years old and was diagnosed with a rare bone marrow disorder.

I got the idea to show this video to you because a friend of mine from who did a really special act. She took an initiative.... she went to ayelets shiva, and I was so impressed how she was so moved by ayelets story and I thought if this one girl can make a diffence and an impact on me that she took this step of kindness -Maayanot as a school can make a diffence together.

I'm going to read a part of the article that I found written by the Rabbi from the Harvard Hillel about Ayelet Z''l, its to your benefit to listen:

The loss of Ayelet is not just the loss of one beautiful little girl. It is not just the loss of the potential for her life and all that she might have accomplished. It is both of those things but also so much more. Sanhedrin teaches us that the loss of a single life is as if an entire world was lost forever. There are generations of descendants from Ayelet the world will never know. There are countless people who would have been touched by her life who will not have that experience. In chaos theory there exists a concept called the butterfly effect in which one small change can bring about tremendous results that would be impossible to anticipate. The loss of Ayelet is not just a small change to the world, it is an enormous change, and the impact that she would have brought to her family, her people and the rest of humanity, will never be known.

Yet, the Mishnah also teaches us the converse as well. One who saves a life is as if she or he saved the entire world. And there is no doubt that the heart wrenching struggle for life waged by Ayelet and her family, broadcast to the world has brought about so much good. One often wonders how much they can truly impact the world. What difference can I really have in a global community of over seven billion people? The story of Ayelet is the loudest protest possible against the proposition that our lives do not and cannot matter. Each one of us can make such a tremendous difference.

Countless cheek swabbing drives to add people to the bone marrow registry.... Because of those cheek swabbing drives, when Ayelet tragically left this world on Monday morning, 21 people had found their lives saved through the bone marrow registry and the registration of all those new people. Twenty one people in this world owe their lives to the good will of complete strangers who were inspired at the very deepest levels to act because of Ayelet Galena zt”l. In other words, because of Ayelet there now exists another twenty one worlds of human life and meaning.

This is the impact of one person. -

Anytime you feel your life does not matter, anytime you are confident that the world would be no worse or better with or without you, remember Ayelet. The struggle of one small child restored life to twenty one people. Ponder and reflect on that because you never know how and in what way you will make that difference.

Each one of us can make a difference

I say we dedicate our learning on Februray 9th in memory of Ayelet Galena. 

There are countless people whom I'm sure have done so much for her, and Maayanot can do that to! It might not be money and it might not be saving a life, but as a Yeshiva is shows that highschool girls can take an initiative.

This special girl and her family impacted me in ways I couldn't have realized before.

There grace and humor through this hard struggle is what made me want to this share this with you. To look at life through a positive light is so much more fulfilling than anything in the world. There small positive outlook on their young child even reached celebrities. I believe whole heartily ou can make a difference to the girl sitting next to you…just by being the awesome you- and as a growing teenage girl you should never forget that…

My step of standing up here is not what is going to change your life. But me standing up here telling you that you can change someone elses life is what im hoping to accomplish. Maayanot feeds us the skills to grow into a adult throughout high school- and as adult women going out into the world soon- we all matter and we all can make a difference- if a two year old can do it i'm sure we can all to!