100 Days of Butterflies: A Tribute To Nechama Leibowitz

I have been
working at camp for sixteen years and directing the Tikvah Program for ten
years.  As we are in the final stretch in
preparing for Kayitz, 2010,  I admit to
feeling a bit nervous.  Will camp be as
great as last year?  Will the staff work
well together?  Will the campers and
staff members grow? 

I take comfort
in the words of the late Professor Nechama Leibowitz, as shared by her student,
Dr. Joe Freedman, Director of Ramah Programs in Israel.  Joe always tells his staff of the time he
approached Professor Leibowitz at the start of one of her famous Parshat
Hashavua (Torah Portion of the Week) classes. 
She politely asked him,  “Can you
please come to me after class, kee
yesh lee parparim b’beten—I have butterflies in my stomach.” 

If such a gadol
hador (giant of the generation) has butterflies in her stomach, it is okay for
all of us to have butterflies in our stomachs! 
I share this story with my staff each summer and take comfort in the
fact that I am not alone.