Venice Beach, Goshen, and old longboards
The surfer got out of the water, the smog silouetting him against the Venice Breakwater. This hot summer day was a typical one with not much surf to speak of. The surfing reality here was one of true adversity: insane crowds, bumper-to-bumper traffic, a total environmental mistake ( both in the water and in the air), and a "patrol" of surf punks on the prowl for any board that isn't chained down. "King David", he was nicknamed, grabbed his gear and walked back to his tiny, sardine-can like apartment behind the commotion of the infamous Venice Boardwald, where he lived as a struggling artist with his wife and 3 kids.
Seemingly barely able to survive, no car, in between "projects", this '60's child of Aquarius was somehow propelled into the computerized, fast-pace nineties, perhaps outdated. Even the only longboard he owned had a dozen patches on it, an old Weber Performer, whose survival reflected the tenacity of its owner.
What's it like being a surfer here? "Hey, I love it! What more do I need? I'm next to the ocean. My family is all healthy, there's bread on the table, I sell a picture every now and then- this is the LIFE! Thank G-d!"
Had our surfer friend David been in the Land of Egypt (Goshen) he no doubt would have agreed with the Ohr Ha Chayim's interpretation of our Torah portion, Va Yehi. "Vitality, life", is the description of Jacob and his son's sojourn in Egypt (Ervat Ha Aretz- an abominable place), which would make Venice look like the Garden of Eden.
Why true "life" in a place of spiritual abomination? They had their families intact, their faith, their study. Seems we make our own paradise, whether on a tropical island or a big city.
A Shabbat Shalom to all!
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