Any surfer worth his salt has had to come up with a "surf report". If he surfs in a new country or some isolated stretch of beach, the word gets out and here the potential for a real "yarn" starts! The scenario looks like this: you just come back from somewhere (you name the place: Bali, Western Australia, Oaxaca, etc.) completely sunbaked, a few pounds lighter, with a contented yet slightly disheveled look on your face, and the "bros" get the word through the grapevine that you're back. The first telephone calls start to fire up. What will be the "report"? Fact, fiction, or perhaps a little of both?
Word has it that Joey Cabell, a waterman and surfer of legendary proportions, nicknamed the "fox" of Hanalei Bay on Kauai, paddled around the rugged, impassable Napali cliffs of Kauai's North shore. His provisions? A speedo bathing suit (which he wore), his surfboard (which he paddled), one fishing knife and waterproof matches. What did he see in those remote coves and rocky headlands? Sharks? The perfect wave? Was all that he told exactly what he had experienced?
For years, stories were told of the legendary figure in Southern Mexico, Pat Tobin. An expatriate from Laguna Beach, Pat's awesome surfing ability and bravado at the notorious "Mexican Pipeline" were recounted by every surfer from Ensenada to Puerto Escondido. "Fish Tales" abound about broken cameras, cutting other surfers' surf leashes with scissors, surfing "goon squads" led by Pat to sabotage and harrass nosy photographers and reporters trying to expose this coveted spot. Where does the truth stop and the "report" begin?
No question that our friend Pat would be able to identify with the story about the "spies" sent out into the land ( in this week's Torah portion, "Shlach") to "report" on their sightings. Our sages tell us that every false report must have some element of truth in it in order to be palatable ( Rashi, Numbers 13-27). And so it was with the spies. "Yes, it is truly a land of milk and honey," they reported accurately. "But.........", their false report is now part of history. The question asked throughout the generations: why wouldn't someone want to go into a land of milk and honey? Each one of the spies had their own reason to remain in the desert!
"Hey, that's all hype!", Pat Tobin confided years later about the false "report" of the numerous shady activities and goings on at the "Mexican Pipeline". One thing we know for sure: The stories of the daring, incredible surfing ability of Pat Tobin were witnessed my many.
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experience.
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Find out more about your heritage, introductory Talmud and Kabbala classes
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Rabbi Nachum Shifren "The Surfing Rabbi" Email: rabbisurf@aol.com
Surf & Soul Online: http://www.surfingrabbi.com
P.O. Box 654, Jerusalem, 91006 * Israel Tel: (03) 906-7281 * Fax: (03) 906-7280