Origins:
The story given above is Perfection at the Plate, a work of RABBI PAYSACH KROHN. It appeared in his 1999 book, Echoes of the Maggid. Echoes is a "Chicken Soup for the Soul"-type book, described by its publishers as "heartwarming stories and parables of wisdom and inspiration." It is the fifth such tome in the "Maggid" series. Rabbi Krohn says that the story is true and that he was told it by Shaya's father, who is a friend of his. (The "Chush" school mentioned in the piece is the Jewish Center for Special Education on Kent Street in Brooklyn, a school that caters to Yiddish-speaking children of Orthodox Hasidic Jews. )


At a fund-raising dinner for a Brooklyn school that caters to learning-disabled children, the father of one child was expected to give a speech extolling the dedicated staff's work.  Instead his opening remarks shocked the crowd of parents and teachers. He cried out: "My son goes to this school, which teaches that everything God does is done with perfection.  But where is the perfection in my son Shaya?  My child cannot understand things as other children do. So tell me, where is God's perfection?"

The audience, shocked by the man's anguished question, hushed.  A few people coughed nervously as the father continued:  "I believe that when God brings a child like this into the world, the perfection He seeks is in the way people react."  The father then told about the afternoon he and Shaya walked past a park where some boys Shaya knew were playing baseball.  Shaya asked, "Do you think they will let me play?"

The father knew that his son was not at all athletic and that most boys would not want him on their team.  Nevertheless, Shaya's father understood that if his son were to be chosen to play it would give him a comfortable sense of belonging.  So the father approached one of the boys in the field and asked if Shaya could play.

The boy looked around for guidance from his teammates.  Getting none, he took matters into his own hands.  "We're losing by six runs, and the game is in the eighth inning," he told the father.  "I guess he can be on our team and we'll try to put him up to bat in the ninth inning."  Shaya's father was ecstatic as Shaya smiled broadly.  A team member told Shaya to put on a glove and go out to play short center field.

In the bottom of the eighth inning, Shaya's team scored a few runs but was still behind by three.  In the bottom of the ninth inning, Shaya's team scored again and now, with two outs and the bases loaded with the potential winning run on base, Shaya was up to bat.

Would the team actually take a chance on Shaya to bat home the winning run?  Everyone knew it was all but impossible because Shaya didn't even know how to hold the bat properly, let alone hit with it.

Yet as Shaya stepped up to the plate, the pitcher moved a few steps to lob the ball in softly so Shaya should at least be able to make contact.  The first pitch came in and Shaya swung clumsily and missed.  One of Shaya's teammates came up to Shaya so together they could hold the bat and face the pitcher.

Again the pitcher took a few steps forward to toss the ball softly.  As the pitch came in, Shaya and his teammate swung at the bat and together they hit a slow ground ball.  The pitcher picked up the soft grounder and could easily have thrown the ball to the first baseman.  Shaya would have been out and that would have ended the game.  Instead, the pitcher took the ball and threw it on a high arc to right field, far beyond reach of the first baseman.  Everyone started yelling, "Shaya, run to first! Run to first!"

Never in his life had Shaya run to first.  So now he scampered down the baseline, wide-eyed and startled.  By the time he reached first base, the right fielder had the ball.  He could have thrown the ball to the second baseman who would tag out Shaya, still running.  But the right fielder understood what the pitcher's intentions were, so he threw the ball high and far over the third baseman's head.  Everyone yelled: "Run to second! Run to second!"  Shaya ran towards second base as the runners ahead of him deliriously circled the bases towards home. Just as Shaya reached second base, the opposing shortstop ran to him, turned him in the direction of third base and shouted, "Run to third."  As Shaya rounded third, the boys from both teams ran behind him screaming:  "Shaya, run home!" Shaya ran home, stepped on home plate, and all 18 boys lifted him on their shoulders.  They made Shaya their hero, as he had just hit a grand slam and won the game for his team.

"That day," said the father softly with tears now rolling down his face, "those 18 boys reached their level of God's perfection."

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Jesus Saves John 3:16

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