The waves at Sunset Beach, Oahu, were perfect, not too big, in the 8-10 ft. range, but with a smooth face and straight, light off-shore breeze. Paul Strauch was out, ripping up the shifting peaks and inside bowl sections. Nicknamed the "eagle", Paul made it all look easy, with absolute smoothness and grace. But Paul had another nickname: the "gentleman". As great a surfer as he was, he was polite,, and most of all, modest. Perhaps this is what made him great: a giant in ocean ability, while at the same time humble, unassuming.
"Where you can find His modesty, that's where you'll find His greatness," the Talmud informs us about the nature of our Creator. We learn an important lesson about the "burning bush" (Rashi, z'l, 3-2) in this week's Torah portion: why this Divine appearance in a lowly "bush"? This miracle at the very least should have taken place in some giant Sequoia redwood!
Shabbat Shalom to all our friends, surfers, and non-surfers alike!
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