Plea for the Removal of Strange Fire

There once was a small town near a fast-flowing river.  Just beyond the town the river ended in a huge waterfall.  The townspeople knew to stay away from the river, because anyone caught in the current would surely end up over the edge of the waterfall, and there was no way to survive such a fall.   One day, the townspeople heard shouts coming from the river.  They ran and saw someone caught in the current, heading toward the dangerous falls.  Working together, they were able to throw him a rope and save his life.  A few days later it happened again.  Someone was caught in the current, and they rushed to save him.  They decided to keep the rope tied to a tree by the river for the next time.  Sure enough, it happened again.  And again, and soon multiple people were falling in the river and the whole town set up a watch to fish people out of the dangerous waters, and they had an alarm system installed to bring people to help if necessary.

Then once day they had an idea.  They built a net across the river, so that anyone who fell in would be caught by the net and easily saved by a few people monitoring their net.  Sure enough, it worked, and only rarely did people slip through the net and need extra help.  Everyone in the town was so proud of their solution that they never thought to go upstream and discover why people were falling in the river in the first place.

This week’s Parashah contains one of the strangest bits of text we encounter.  Parashat Shemini begins with the first sacrifice following the ordination of Aaron and his sons as priests, with Aaron as high priest.  Aaron offers the sacrifice and fire comes down from God to consume it.  Then Aaron’s sons, Nadav and Abihu, try to do the same thing.  It happens in two verses:

Now Aaron's sons Nadab and Abihu each took his fire pan, put fire in it, and laid incense on it; and they offered before Adonai alien fire, which God had not enjoined upon them.  ² And fire came forth from Adonai and consumed them; thus they died at the instance of Adonai (Lev. 10:1-2).

Aaron’s sons, trying to do what they had seen their father do, ended up dying at God’s hand.  The same fire that came down moments earlier to accept Aaron’s sacrifices comes down again with tragic results.  One moment the Israelites shout and cheer as they revel in God’s acceptance of their sacrifice, and the next there is deafening silence.

Fire from God is an incredibly powerful force, and when summoned with the correct intent it brings expiation and elation.  When summoned falsely or by the wrong person, at the wrong time, or with the wrong intent, the consequences are deadly.

In the Bible we can give a little leeway to this disturbing story.  We can explain it with midrashim that suggest God knew Nadav and Abihu had malicious intent and were therefore punished.  We can read it as a warning, over the top for the modern reader but perhaps on track for the Bible, to not act without proper instructions, especially when dealing with the Divine elements that require a particular understanding.  We can assume that there is some sort of lesson to be learned from this terrible story, but all we can do is speculate as to the original writers’ intent.  Nadav and Abihu took their father’s ritual equipment, used it improperly, and it resulted in their death.  They were victims of their father’s strange fire.

Today’s’ modern parallel would be a child stealing their parent’s gun.  We read it all the time, when children want to be cool and show a friend what was under daddy’s bed or in mommy’s purse.  When they use what they don’t understand in an improper way.  It never ends well.

Perhaps it could be argued that guns are helpful.  I don’t personally agree.  I think they only harm.  But let’s just say, for the sake of argument, that someone could convince me that for some reason it is necessary to have a weapon in the home.  When they are not stored properly, used properly, locked away out of reach of anyone who could misuse them, they can only become the same strange fire that Nadav and Abihu toyed with.  Usually when a child takes a handgun that is not properly locked away, the results are the same for them as for the sons of Aaron.

Here in Florida we have extremely lax gun laws.  My brother-in-law, visiting our family here two weeks ago, greeted me with, “So happy to be in Florida where murder is legal."  I responded, "Welcome to the Gunshine State!"  We have laws that allow someone with arrests for assaulting a police officer and domestic battery to carry a concealed weapon.  We have laws that allow someone to use deadly force against another human being just because they feel scared.  We have laws that allow police officers to free a suspect because it looked like he was “standing his ground.”

It is absolutely tragic what happened to Treyvon Martin about six weeks ago.  It is disgusting that it took so long to bring charges against George Zimmerman.  There does need to be justice, and hopefully this will come to some sort of resolution soon.   Zimmerman may have shot Martin in self defense, and Martin may have attacked Zimmerman in self-defense.    But if we focus on George Zimmerman and Treyvon Martin, tragic as the story may be, we are just fishing people out of the river. 

The problem we have is not that one guy who has police officer pals displayed terrible judgment and went unpunished for too long.  The problem we have is Florida’s gun laws.  Martin was a victim of Florida’s Strange Fire.  Zimmerman should not have been allowed to own a weapon, much less serve as his community’s neighborhood watch.

I heard a story on NPR recently about a military battalion coming home from Iraq.  They got through Iraqi airport security without a hitch and flew home, landing here in Florida.  20 or so men and women, finally home from a tour of duty, were detained for two hours by security in America.  One soldier had a nail clipper confiscated, but he was allowed to keep the gun strapped to his chest.  All of the soldiers were allowed to keep their guns and rifles, though several of them had lotions and razors taken away from them by TSA.

In late August, Tampa will be hosting the Republican Party’s National Convention.  They are trying to create a “Clean Zone,” that will help control protesters outside of the convention.  There is a list of items that cannot be brought into this area, including clubs, knives, chains and pepper spray.  But because of Florida’s gun laws, they cannot ban guns in that area!  According to the Hillsborough County Public Defender, “If you’re walking in the convention area, you can’t have a water pistol, but if you’re licensed properly to carry a concealed firearm you can.”[1]

My friends, I know that there are people in this sanctuary who have concealed weapons licenses.  With close to a million people carrying them in Florida, that should be no surprise.  I pray that you don’t have them with you in this holy space, but I acknowledge that it is possible.  I know that those of you who carry weapons do so “for your own safety,” or because you live alone or don’t believe the police would get to you on time.  I know that as a rabbi I am supposed to be nice.  I am supposed to give way in the name of the Talmudic dictate, dina malchuta dina, “the law of the law is legally binding.”  When a congregant tells me about the weapons in their home I typically smile and nod and change the subject.  Every time I do that, I am guilty of putting a net across the river.  So I will do this no more.

It’s time to stop fishing people out of the river, time to stop casting nets to prevent people from more harm than they already have gotten into.  It’s time to go upstream.  This is not about the Treyvon Martins of the world.  This is about laws in the Gunshine State.  This is about political control the NRA has in our country.  This is even about misrepresentation of the 2^nd Amendment of our Constitution.

Owning firearms is wrong.

If you defend our country or cities by serving as a military or police officer, I commend you.  Your weapons should be kept in some sort of protective custody when you are not using them for your job.  If you are not employed as such, get rid of your weapons.  They cannot do any good in your home.  In all likelihood if they are ever used they will only harm you or someone you love.  If you are a hunter, try bow and arrow.  A bow cannot accidentally go off in your hand.  It takes much more skill and would not only prevent accidental shootings (ahem, Mr. ex-Vice President), it would prevent the thinning of animal population that is regularly threatening our ecosystem.

Until we get rid of the weapons, please—please lock them up.  Lock them tight with keys and combination locks and anything that keeps them out of the hands of people who don’t know how to use them.  Help prevent our children from toying with strange fire and suffering such a terrible fate.

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[1] According to Reuters, “Trayvon Martin killing puts spotlight on ‘Gunshine’ state” by David Adams and Kevin Gray

Sports and Comicbooks

I’m not a sports fan.  I never have been.  I’m a comicbook geek.  So when a teenager walking around Universal Islands of Adventure this weekend asked me, “As a rabbi, what do you think of Tebow?”  I was forced to answer, “I love it! It has totally changed the way I watch television…”

Once he explained to me the difference between the DVR system and the Denver Broncos quarterback, I still needed some explanation.  Why would you need my opinion on him “as a rabbi”?  What’s so special about him?  What’s a quarterback?

Since the conversation was becoming sports-based and another youth advisor was passionately offering his own opinion, I took it as an opportunity to bow out of the discussion.  Then later I found myself walking with that same advisor.  He tried to bring up football again, and I professed my ignorance.  I told him I don’t understand the obsession so many people have with sports, especially here in South Florida.  I don’t get why people get so into the teams and get so upset at losses and so excited at wins.  Unless they have money riding on the games it just doesn’t make sense to me.  Personally, I would much rather play a sport than watch other people playing, and I don’t even like to do that very much.

He explained to me that for most people sports are what comicbooks are to me.  It is an escape into a fantastical world where super-humans can do amazing things.  He told me that people get as involved with the players and the teams as I do with the characters in the stories I read.  I have to admit, it was the first time anyone has ever explained sports fanaticism in a way that makes sense to me.

So when I got home I decided to look up this Tim Tebow character to try to understand why people are so into him or against him.  According to Wikipedia, he is a Heisman trophy winner—which apparently means somebody Jewish likes him.  He won an ESPY, the Academy Awards of the sports world, for Best Male College Athlete in 2008.  The list of his awards and honors is incredibly impressive.  He was offered entry into the NFL draft in 2009, but he chose to finish college instead.  He was picked up by the Denver Broncos in 2010, where he took the number 15, which has been the best selling NFL jersey since his draft.  He is featured on the covers of magazines and video games, and Marvel Comics even made a superhero out of him.

That all makes him seem pretty great.  Award-winning athlete, popular among fans.  What could be the issue?  Apparently the problem comes on two fronts.  The first is his faith and what could be seen as proselytizing.  He was fond of writing references to biblical passages on the eye black football players use to shade their eyes from sunlight.  After Tim Tebow wrote the words, “John 6:13” on his eye black, the verse got searched 90 million times in 24 hours on Google.  He says a prayer of thanks after a touchdown by kneeling in the end zone—a move now known as “Tebowing,” and which the New York times says when people do it you can’t tell if they are emulating or mocking him.  He also preaches in the Philippines, his country of birth, and supports evangelicals there and in the States.  The other problem people have with him is that he is…get this: too nice.  Supposedly when interviewing or having discussions with people about God, football, or the weather, he is the nicest guy you could imagine.  Frankly I don’t understand the problem with that except that maybe he doesn’t fit in to modern society.

So back to Universal.  The teen asked what I thought about a national figure wearing religion on his sleeve.  I told him It’s way better than the national attention drawn to the non-football activities of Michael Vick or Kobe Bryant.  If a public figure can influence today’s youth in a positive way, I’m all for it.  Moreover, we shouldn’t be afraid to talk to our friends and neighbors, and most importantly our children, about how important God is to us.  If we keep talking about God and how important our sacred tradition is to us, our children will keep paying attention to it.

So this weekend whether you’re watching football or reading comicbooks, enjoy the heroes of entertainment, and celebrate the ones who know there’s something even bigger than them.

Only in NFTY

Today I was reminded of how lax I was in writing about the eight miracles of Chanukah in our modern world. Tonight, however, I witnessed one that was worth all the others I skipped.
Tonight is the third night of NFTY-STR's Winter Regional convention. Every year teens from all over South Florida gather for four days of programming led by their regional board. Every year on the third night they run a program called "STR Search," which is basically a talent show. The first act tonight was a senior girl who I have seen sing four years in a row. She is a good singer who, bluntly put, thinks she's great. She gets a little too loud and a lot too close to the microphone. She also happens to be a high functioning autistic child, so nobody minds. As an adult, I think it is great to let her sing away. I know that she has issues but she loves to express herself in song, so I tolerate her. But here's the miracle: the high school kids to whom she sings. The self-focused, apathetic, materialistic kids who don't want to do anything but feed their desires, they don't just tolerate her. They love her.

When she sings, they sing along, they hoot encouragingly, and they cheer while she pushes through difficult parts of the song. When she finishes, they give her a standing ovation. It was so beautiful, I felt tears forming. But I wasn't alone. A quick glance around the advisors sitting in the back taught me that I was not alone by far.

These kids at NFTY-STR are an incredible miracle. They make me proud to work with them, proud to do what I do, and consistently impressed by the vast amounts of compassion they are capable of.

Thank you, NFTY-STR. You are the best gift I have gotten this Chanukah.

Third Day of Chanukah: The Miracle of Freedom

Today on Facebook I saw a picture.

It was a picture of Gilad Shalit celebrating Chanukah at home.  Gilad Shalit, for over 5 years, was held captive by Hamas militants.  From the time he was 19 to 25, he was imprisoned and deprived of many of the freedoms the rest of the world takes for granted.  On October 18, just over two months ago, he was released in exchange for over 1000 Palestinians who had been captured by Israel.

It is a simple picture but it expresses nothing less than a miracle.  Gilad Shalit looks great.  A bandaged hand and skinny frame, but smiling and standing on his own two feet.  He looks like he is celebrating with six other people (as evidenced by the six glasses on the table), and he is lighting the Chanukiah in his parents’ home.  The fact that he could even be photographed like this exemplifies the miracle of freedom. 

 
So often we sit in our homes and light our Chanukiot without even a thought to how lucky we are to be able to do so.  Gilad Shalit could not celebrate any holidays for over 5 years, and now because of the perseverance of his family and the willingness of the Israeli government to compromise, we are able to celebrate with him, and acknowledge our own freedom this Chanukah.
 
May we understand how blessed we are to be free to light our Chanukiot this Chanukah.

A Second Chanukah MIracle

Today I noticed the miracle of sibling love.  Last night we lit candles and opened presents as Natalie ran out the door to a Chanukah party for work.  The kids and I had pizza and enjoyed a gift from the previous night: Spy Kids 4.  This is, I admit, an awful movie, but my children love it.

So as the movie was coming to an end I decided to play parent.  I paused the DVD and told them the movie would be continued when teeth were brushed and pajamas were on.  Without so much as a complaint the boys sprang into action as I grabbed Isabella.  Bella loves to brush her teeth, so she takes a bit longer than the boys.  As she finished I noticed her need for a change, so before going up to get her pajamas I stopped at the diaper station.

Here is where the miracle happened.  I heard the boys finishing upstairs, and I thought maybe I would just put Bella to bed when we got up there.  Instead of just coming down, however, Alexander came bearing Bella’s pajamas.  He told me he wanted to make sure she could get ready too.  So he watched as I put her in her pajamas, then asked if he could sit with her through the end of the movie.  The two of them sat snuggling, stroking each others hair, and Alex cooed softly to her, “I love you, Bella!”

Watching a 4-year-old be so tender with his baby sister was truly a miracle.

Ma'i Chanukah?

Why is Chanukah celebrated for eight nights?

Why do we light eight-branch candelabra?

In looking at three different texts about the “history” of Chanukah, we can read three different answers.

First, from the book of II Maccabees, the Chanukah celebration is described as being modeled after Sukkot:

They celebrated it for eight days with rejoicing, in the manner of the festival of booths, remembering how not long before, during the festival of booths, they had been wandering in the mountains and caves like wild animals.  ⁷ Therefore, carrying ivy-wreathed wands and beautiful branches and also fronds of palm, they offered hymns of thanksgiving to him who had given success to the purifying of his own holy place.  ⁸ They decreed by public edict, ratified by vote, that the whole nation of the Jews should observe these days every year (2 Maccabees 10:6-8).

When I read this I picture the exhausted Jewish troops discussing their need for a victory party and debating how they would celebrate.  The most recent holiday before the dedication would have been Sukkot, the “festival of booths.”  So they would have been disappointed in how they had to celebrate two months prior.  Still reminiscing about how Sukkot could have been or would have been if the Temple was under their control, they decided to model their rededication festivities after Sukkot.  Makes a lot of sense!

About 100 years later or more, the Jewish historian Josephus explains the same phenomenon.  He explains that when the Maccabees were surveying the damage done to the Temple after the war, they found eight spears sticking out of the ground, four on either side of the entrance to the Holy of Holies.  That was clearly a sign that they should celebrate their dedication for eight days.

Another 400 years or so later, the Talmud explains that

When the Greeks entered the Temple, they defiled all the oils therein, and when the Hasmonean Dynasty prevailed against and defeated them, they made search and found only one cruse of oil, which they lay with the seal of the High Priest, which contained sufficient oil for one day’s lighting only. Yet a miracle occurred, and they lit the lamp for eight days (Shabbat 21b).

This is the answer we all come up with when we think about the miracle of Chanukah, but it wasn’t written about until several hundred years after the Maccabean revolt!  According to the principal of Ockham’s razor, all things being equal, the simplest explanation is most likely to be true.  So which is simpler: that a one-day cruse of oil lasted eight days or that a group of people wanted to relive a holiday they enjoyed a lot?  Probably the latter.

But more important than trying to figure out what really happened over 2000 years ago is the realization what the development of our ancient texts teaches us.  The ragtag group of warrior priests winning the battles over the Syrian Greeks was a miracle.  It was amazing that they were able to come to some sort of victory against all odds.  That was truly something to celebrate.  Perhaps as the years went on they wanted to attribute the victory more to God and less to the guerrilla warriors.  That’s terrific, and makes for a great story.  So they changed the miracle from the battlefield to the candle light.  That’s ok, because Judaism is all about taking the needs of the day and reacting to them as a people.  The rabbis of the Talmud created such a powerful story that we still teach it to our children today. 

But no matter how amazing their stories are, the rabbis never teach us that their way is the final word.  They instead teach us that it is the responsibility of learned Jews to notice the miracles of our day.  We might not see a pillar of smoke and fire or a flaming chariot with fiery horses, but we will see a flower blooming.  We will connect with a friend, and notice the beauty in the world around us.  These are all miracles, and they should be noted as nothing less.  It is up to us to tell the stories of the miracles we see every day.

So this week I will try to point out one miracle for each of the eight days of Chanukah.  As the first day draws to a close, I remember the latkes my family and I ate last night.  To me it was nothing short of a miracle that my wife (very afraid of trying new things) thought the latkes with beets in them were amazing.  (She supposedly doesn’t even like beets!)  So today’s miracle is for new things: may we all enjoy them this Chanukah!

Chag Urim Sameach!

Fighting Against Jack-O-Lanterns

For the fourth year in a row, I have gone to rebuild New Orleans with a group of high school students.  It has been six years since Hurricane Katrina blew past New Orleans, six years since the devastation wrought by the flooding took place.  Each year brings a different experience, a different group of teens, a different perspective.  Yet each year has a stronger impact on me than the year before.

The first time I went was 2007.  Rabbi Andy Koren and I had been chatting that summer, and he brought up the idea that he wanted to bring a group of teens to clean up New Orleans.  He asked if I had any interest in a trip like that, and I responded resounding in the positive.  That was all we spoke of it until just after the school year started.  He called me and asked if I was still interested, because he needed a few more teens to make the trip viable.  If I could bring a few and he brought a few we could make it work together.  So we met in New Orleans that winter: 8 from Temple Sinai in Miami, FL, and 15 from Temple Emanuel in Greensboro, NC.  That was the foundation on which we have tried to build each consecutive year, and this year was our best trip yet with the highest number of teens participating: 11 from Miami, 15 from Greensboro, and 5 from Roanoke, VA (their first time).

It is an exhausting whirlwind adventure for teens and chaperones alike. We go on a tour of New Orleans.  We visit Tulane University. We work in a soup kitchen. We build homes. We do environmental repair. We join Congregation Gates of Prayer in Metairie for Kabbalat Shabbat. We go to Rock and Bowl on Saturday night.  We come home physically exhausted and spiritually inspired.

This year our first day was touring and touring.  We met our tour guide Julie for burgers, then toured through the streets of New Orleans.  Those of us who were veterans on the trip (three of the adults, four of the kids) recognized the flood sites, levies, and pumping stations.  We remembered the shore of Lake Pontchartrain, so beautiful and calm, and the stories about how high the waters get on a windy day, not to mention during a hurricane of any magnitude.  We also noticed how clean and pretty the city looks on the surface.  There are new houses, new businesses, new street signs, and many of the lots are cleaned out and ready for sale.  The problem is under the surface.  The locals call it the “Jack-O-Lantern Effect.”  It looks shiny at first glance, then you notice the holes.

A deeper look under the surface reveals the hollow insides from Katrina’s wrath that have not yet been healed.  The 9^th Ward has yet to have significant repair, save the homes Brad Pitt’s foundation “Make It Right,” and the tell-tale pastel painted homes built by Habitat for Humanity.  On the outside of broken-down buildings you can see spray-painted X’s with notes left by search crews numbering the survivors and bodies found after Katrina.  A large barn we saw was painted with the note, “We’ll be back. Do not tear down.” But 6 years later it looks like they’re still not back.  Other homes have been completely razed and the owners have simply walked away from their property and relocated.  Others still didn’t even bother with tearing down their destroyed homes.  They simply took whatever they could salvage from their flooded homes and walked away.  That’s the Jack-O-Lantern Effect.  New homes and rebuilding on the surface while the inside decays, just praying for groups of people to descend and make their mark toward healing the Big Easy.

Whenever I look at the overgrown or cleaned bare lots of the 9^th Ward, I wonder how much it would really take to rebuild this amazing city.  So I asked our tour guide, who told us that with the dwindling of tour groups over the last 6 years, if we keep coming in the same numbers as right now, we will be finished with the rebuild by the year 2036. 

One other site always stirs my emotions, no matter how many times I have seen it.  Congregation Beth Israel, an Orthodox synagogue on Canal Blvd. in Lakeview…or what’s left of it.  The doors are sealed, the disrepair is visible from the outside, and the letters above the sealed entrance doors are barely legible.  They say, va’asu li mikdash, v’shachanti b’tocham, “Make me a sanctuary and I will dwell among them” (Exod. 25:8).  The “them” referred to in the book of Exodus is the Israelites, and when we look at this sanctuary that was destroyed by an act of God, it begs the question: “Where was God dwelling during Hurricane Katrina?”  It is the answer to this question that makes me emotional.  You see, God was in the people of another congregation across the city.  Congregation Gates of Prayer, led by Rabbi Robert Loewy, one of the unsung heroes of the flood’s aftermath, opened its doors and hearts to Beth Israel.  This Reform congregation in Metairie invited their displaced brethren in, kashered their kitchen so it could be used by both communities, gave them a place to hold services, and even gave them a piece of land on which they would build their new building.  Rabbi Loewy has been a model of the Jewish value of hachnasat orchim (welcoming guests) and continues to be an exemplar of the Talmudic dictum, “all [Jews are] responsible for one another” (B. Shavuot 39a).  In the words of Rabbi Koren, “None of those lists of great rabbis are worth a thing until Rabbi Loewy tops them all.”

New Orleans is truly an amazing city.  The music is infectious, the food is incredible, and the people are the salt of the earth.  The Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico make for two gorgeous coasts, and even the swampy marshlands are beautiful and serene.  It’s hard to describe, but something about the Big Easy seeps into my soul and keeps me wanting to go back as soon as I leave.  After four years of running this trip, we have our habits and our favorite places to go.  Rabbi Koren and I are getting to know the area and some of the people.  We know the story of the weeks and months that followed Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Yet something struck me this time that has never happened before.  Or perhaps the reverse of that is true—something did not happen that has happened I the past.

This year there was a palpable lack of locals thanking us for being there.  Of course people thanked us.  The organizations we worked with (The New Orleans Mission, Common Ground, and Habitat for Humanity) clearly appreciate the work we do.  But they are immersed in the effort to rebuild New Orleans.  They are reminded every day of how important it is to be there building, cleaning, planting, and feeding those in need. 

The difference came from the people at restaurants, on the street, and in the hotel who ask what we are doing with all these teens.  In the past when we have explained what we are doing there with all those kids, the response has been effusive gratitude.  “Thank you so much for coming here to help our city.” “New Orleans really appreciates your help.” “The work y’all are doing is so important to us.” The comments from the typical native helped to drive home to our teenagers exactly what they were doing.  They weren’t just there to buy trinkets and t-shirts or ogle the drunken revelers (from whom we keep them away).  They were there to do something incredibly important to every person they passed on the street, and just about every person made a point to stop and tell us.

This year they didn’t do that.  When people asked what our trip was for and I explained, “We’re here to help with the post-Katrina rebuilding effort,” one person (with a New Orleans accent) actually asked me why!  I told him there is still a lot of damage that needs to be repaired, and he cocked his head and said, “Well, have fun, y’all!”

The first time someone genuinely thanked us was Saturday night, and I was the only person who heard it.  I explained to a woman why we were here, and she thanked us and explained to me that she runs a hotel downtown.  I asked where she was in 2005, and she said she got out and went to a cousin in Alabama.  She shouted a little of her story to me over the Beatles’ music at Rock N’ Bowl, then she went to her friends and I went back to the teens.

Once again the Jack-O-Lantern Effect was in action.  So much of the surface has been cleaned up that people don’t remember how important it is to fix the damage that is still left over.  The travel groups have slowed down—maybe they are helping in other places in the world in need of attention, but New Orleans still needs us.  That’s why Rabbi Koren and I try to bring so many kids year after year.  If they are aware for just a moment of how important it is to look beneath the surface, they will continue to strive to rebuild the world, to do acts of Tikkun Olam in New Orleans, wherever they live, whatever cities need them.

You can’t spell Tikkun Olam without “NOLA,” and when NOLA gets rebuilt, the good times will surely roll again.