There are thousands of young adults from our community who are falling through the cracks and are spiritually at risk. They grew up frum and attended very fine Yeshivos but are either leading double lives, externally looking frum but barely observing anything, hanging on to Yiddishkeit by a thread, or sadly, already off-the-derech. As you may be aware, while BJX is renowned for outreach programs for unaffiliated Jews, it also has extensive experience with inreach. The BJX helpline has helped guide countless young men and women in spiritual crisis.

One day, we received a call from a young man who requested an urgent appointment, saying he was in a dire situation. When we met, he disclosed that he had issues from his childhood that were never resolved. He hasn’t put on Tefillin in months, no longer keeps Shabbos, and was on the verge of considering intermarrying. If you met this fellow, you would never suspect that he was in spiritual ruins and in great religious peril.

On the day he arrived for a meeting, there was a concurrent shiur taking place. We introduced him to several guys who took an interest in him and made him feel at home. Two days later, we received the following incredible message:

“Dear Rabbis, I wanted to share with you that before I came to BJX, I was wishing that I only had 3 months left to live. I couldn’t shake the thought. It was dangerous and frightening. After one of the students, you introduced me to shook my hand and made me feel like my presence mattered, the thoughts faded away. I didn’t realize how much I was missing, feeling connected and embraced.”

We had no idea that we literally saved a life.

When the Torah tells us about Moshe Rabeinu’s birth. It says, “Vayeilech Ish miBeis Levi Vayikach es Bas Levi., A man from the house of Levi went and took a daughter of Levi.” What kind of biography is this? Why the anonymity? Why not clearly say Amram is marrying Yocheved? The Torah is talking about the most seminal figure in world history – the giver of the Torah. Not just an ordinary person. Yet when it describes his genealogy, it essentially says “man meets woman.” What’s going on here? Why would the Torah not divulge the names of Moshe’s mother and father?  

The Yalkut Yitzhak answers that the Torah intentionally wrote “man meets woman” so that a person would not think that Moshe Rabbeinu was too holy to descend from human beings. One would surmise that Moshe Rabeinu, the person who speaks “mouth to mouth” with Hashem and spent 120 days in Heaven, couldn’t have come from people. Therefore, it must be that Moshe was able to cope with all his struggles and prevail through all the challenges because he was godly and not human. 

Lots of people say to themselves, I can’t stay religious. I can’t persevere. My temptations and challenges are just too difficult. I’m only human. Therefore, the Torah says, Vayeilech ish miBeis Levi Vayikach es Bas Levi – man meets woman. This emphasizes that they were not angels. They were human. Moshe was also human. The birth of Moshe teaches us that you don’t have to be an angel to be holy.

That’s the secret of BJX’s success with young adults-at-risk. It’s conveying this concept that holiness comes from being human. Holiness comes from being flawed. Our imperfections, our flaws, and our blemishes, that’s what makes us holy. Our struggles give us the ability to forge ahead and become great. With love, encouragement, and hard work, every person can become great.