By Jay Schorr
Rabbi Dovid Bryn, may his blessed soul rest in peace, was a child. He was a child from the day he was born until the day he died 22 years ago at the young age of 40.
Rabbi Bryn looked at the wonder of life, the beauty inherit in it and the souls inhabiting G-d’s Creation with childlike awe; an unjaded – but not unexperienced – Jewish soul taking it all in as if acutely aware of the time stamp on his own earthly existence.
I was thinking of Rabbi Bryn the other day in anticipation of the Rabbi’s 22nd yohrtzeit, as are much of the North Dade Jewish community he helped build, nurture, and shepherd. At such a time of both solemn and joyous recollection, one tends to try and assign definitional clarity to a life so full, so rich, yet so relatively short. While many have written and spoken about our beloved Rabbi over the years in terms couched in approbation and accolade, it bothered me that most descriptions – while accurate and well-deserved – fell short of the mark of the true essence of Rabbi Bryn.
Yes, Rabbi Bryn was a Torah scholar. Yes, Rabbi Bryn was whip smart and a formidable educator. His generosity with both his time and material possessions was exemplary; his kindness, indefatigable. And, when called for, Rabbi Bryn could counter sarcasm with brilliant zingers both subtle and glaring. Then, of course, there was his utter resilience and steadfast bravery in face of an insidious enemy known as Marfan Syndrome, a disease of the connective tissue that would decimate his body and ultimately take him from us.
But the sum total of any and all of these attributes still did not do justice to who and what this great man was – and continues to be – via the impressive legacy he left behind. And so I struggled to adjectivize Rabbi Bryn’s life with one word, an attribute that epitomized him more than any other. Finally, I arrived at what Rabbi Bryn was first and foremost: A child – of G-d.
As we learn in the Pirke Avot (Ethics of the Fathers), the sages often debated which human attributes are the most positive and necessary to fulfill G-d’s Will. In each debate, after the sages have opined on their respective attribute choices, one sage invariably chimes in with the “final word” – that in one of the sage’s choices is included ALL of the attributes propounded in the discussion. In Rabbi Bryn’s case, I believe that attribute to be childlike. For within it, all of Rabbi Bryn’s aforementioned attributes are included, namely:
A childlike innocence to the wondrous Creation around and within him; a love of his fellow man, Jew and gentile alike, facilitated by a childlike tabula rosa of the mind and spirit; an insatiable curiosity to know more; an intuitive sense of humor to ease not only his own pain but that of his fellow man; a purity of soul; a fearlessness to speak and exhibit emotion when moved to do so; a primal longing to connect with his Maker; and an uninhibited need to extend his hand and his love to any and all who are willing to accept them.
Indeed. Rabbi Bryn was a child from the day he was born until the day he passed. Such was the great blessing of this community to be led by a child.
May the children of our generation take their cue from such a great man – or, more accurately, such a wonderful child!
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