"Mike Purpus, the South Bay, and the Coin of Fire"!
Most surfers know about the infamous "South Bay", the hub of beach on the coast of the L.A. Basin, where you can use a whole tank of gas to find a parking place, only to be forced to take a taxi to finally get to your destination! Insane crowding and nightmarish traffic can't dampen the stoke of the tens of thousands of surfers who live, play, and work in this urban marine environment, many times off-limits due to high levels of colera bacteria and petro-chemical pollution.
By any standards, the waves are less than desireable, and usually any swell of consequence will close out the poor sand-bar formations. And yet, we see that the greatest surfers of the world, let alone watermen and lifeguards, come from the South Bay! How can this be?
Mike Purpus, a classic surfer and character in his own right, said it all: "If you can surf the South Bay, you can surf anywhere!" Mike proved his point, blowing minds in the early '70's, surfing 20 ft. Pipeline as well as any of the locals! Mike's absolute stoke for surf and "being on fire" about his dedication, simply cut through the South Bay smog and traffic!!
This "burning enthusiasm" of surfers' legacy comes straight out of this week's Torah portion at the moment of the greatest debacle: the golden calf! The atonement? The people are shown a "coin of fire", each person donating a half-shekel, with the provision that the donation be given "from the heart". The Rebbe of Kotsk (z"l) tells us that only this "enthusiasm of fire", coming from the soul, is the secret of the giving of the half-shekel.
The Kabbala tells us that the heart is a place of "fire", enthusiasm; as Mike Purpus proved to us, if you put your heart into something, not even the two foot mush of the South Bay can cool your stoke!!
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