An interesting story in 4 parts
Michael A. Poretsky (MPoretsky@AOL.COM)
Thu, 2 Dec 1999 15:40:41 EST
Part 3:
Following his Eagle medal, the Ner Tamid and Etz Chaim medals were presented=
to Binyamin by Rabbi Avraham A. Witty, the Chaplain at Camp Kunatah on the=20=
Ten Mile River Scout Reservation. It was very impressive to the audience to=20=
see, and hear, an Orthodox Rabbi in a Scout uniform. He spoke the language o=
f Scouting, and he also spoke the language of the Jewish community around hi=
m. That is a powerful combination for communicating how Scouting serves the=20=
Jewish community.=20
The fact that Scouts from Binyamin=92s Troop, his Scoutmaster, and Rabbi Wit=
ty, would travel over 12 hours round-trip to come to make such a presentatio=
n was not lost on the audience. They were further impressed by the 8-foot ta=
ll and 12-foot long Eagle Scout backdrop, and other special Scouting decorat=
ions that were brought, as well as the music, slide show, and embossed progr=
am folders. Some, in the audience, may have felt that this was due to the co=
mmon bond of religion between Binyamin and his Scout friends. While there is=
some truth in that assessment, the audience would shortly learn more about=20=
Scouting.=20
Following citations and remarks delivered by Honored Guests, it was appropri=
ate to give Binyamin the =91Challenge and Charge to the Eagle=92 as delivere=
d by another Eagle. While Dr. Spielman is an Eagle Scout, he felt he needed=20=
a new Eagle voice. Unfortunately, each of the 13 previous Eagle Scouts in hi=
s Troop was committed elsewhere in the United States and Israel. Through the=
BS.A. National Office in Irving, Texas and the Adirondack Council in Platts=
burgh, New York, the nearest Eagle he could find was a college senior at St.=
Lawrence University =96 a 6-hour round trip away.=20
Mr. Cory L. Haynes, an Eagle from 1992, truly impressed his audience. He spo=
ke beautifully as he delivered his challenge and charge, resplendent in his=20=
=91Class A=92 uniform. His demeanor, his words, and his delivery, further co=
mmunicated the meaning of what it is to be an Eagle Scout. Beyond what he sa=
id once he came, his audience was even further impressed by the reason why h=
e came. Cory is not Jewish and had no bond of religious affiliation with Bin=
yamin. Cory had never met Binyamin, until half an hour before the Court of H=
onor, and had no bond of friendship with Binyamin. The fact that Cory made a=
6-hour round-trip solely because of the bond of one Eagle Scout for another=
was a truly impressive message.
=91The Eagle=92s Response=92 is one of the last parts of a Court of Honor. B=
inyamin, too, spoke beautifully. He made a number of =93thank you=92s,=94 re=
membering all those who helped him along the way. However, Binyamin surprise=
d many in his audience when he made a startling assertion.=20
He said that the reason he is now attending rabbinical school was because of=
Scouting. He said that over the past years he had been asked many questions=
about Judaism by his fellow Scouts. Many of these he could answer, but some=
he could not. These inspired him to do research and to have many discussion=
s with his own Rabbis and teachers. He enjoyed the learning and he enjoyed c=
ommunicating the answers to his fellow Scouts. He is now studying to =91be p=
repared=92 to work with Scout-age youth in the future, as a Rabbi and a teac=
her.
The Scoutmaster=92s Minute built to the crescendo of the closing anthem.=20
-------
=93Binyamin, while your grandparents were all born in North America, I know=20=
that most of your great-grandparents, and all of their forebears were born i=
n what are now the countries of Poland, Russia, and Lithuania. Most of the r=
elatives they left behind, fell victim to the Holocaust during World War II.=
=94
=93Those of us here, in North America at the close of the twentieth century,=
are very lucky. We are in a land of peace and prosperity. We have the leisu=
re to learn how to =93Be Prepared=94 in the voluntary and enjoyable, program=
known as Scouting. We have no fears of persecution, no fears of our propert=
y being confiscated, nor our family members being murdered =96 for who they=20=
are, or what religion they practice. As Jewish Scouts, in a Scout Troop char=
tered to a Jewish Community Center, we are particularly aware of the wonderf=
ul opportunities we have =96 both here in Canada, and in the United States o=
f America.=94
=93Binyamin, as you begin your new trail =96 of returning to Scouting what i=
t has given to you =96 and as you and the other Scouts continue to build ski=
lls, friendships and memories for the future, let us return for a moment to=20=
the summer of 1997. You were one of 24 members of Troop 54 to attend the 199=
7 National Scout Jamboree held by the Boy Scouts of America in Virginia. We=20=
were joined by 56 other Jewish Scouts and Scouters. We all came from 16 diff=
erent States =85 and from Canada. And, those 80 Scouts and Scouters would no=
t have been able to attend the spectacular Jamboree if it were not for joini=
ng our Shomer Shabbat Contingent =96 with its Jewish observance.=94
