Tonight it happened.
I watched it in full. In a speech given by the American governor, Shlomo Yehuda Rechnitz, and it still resonates in my ears.
Although the man is undoubtedly very entitled and many benefit from his tremendous philanthropic endeavors, the truth must be told: I personally wasn't crazy about the man.
In recent years, I've felt like I can't turn my head without encountering him - singing or dancing, speaking or donating. And sometimes doing all of the above at the same time.
But this speech he gave in Lakewood changed the picture in an instant.
This speech was much more than a good speech, much more than an important speech.
It was an inspiring speech.
Yes, gentlemen, inspiring.
I can't remember when a speech was given, so courageous, so Jewish, so humane. I can't recall a speech like that, either from a rabbi or a businessman.
The call that is so simple, so moral, that every soul has value and must not be trampled upon, no matter what reason in the world; this message that is so simple has disappeared under the mountains of justifications that we have found for ourselves to become an elitist and arrogant society.
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During the speech, Rechnitz returned to addressing the audience with the phrase "we," and it was clear that this was more than rhetoric. It was clear that while he saw flaws in the Torah city, he came out of great love.
The pattern was apparently already well-known and familiar. The expectation was that he would come to rip off the community, and they would rip him off in return. He would announce a respectable donation to the institutions, and the entire audience would pretend to be amazed and cheer enthusiastically, and all he would have to do was close his eyes and indulge in the applause.
Instead, he chose to come and do a brave deed and deliver a difficult, and not simple, speech.
But perhaps this speech will raise awareness and begin the process towards the long-awaited change.
On a personal note, now, I suddenly really like him.
For my part, he will come to Israel, sing and dance to his heart's content.
But the main thing, the main thing is that he doesn't forget to give his speech.
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