佚名/Anonymous
In Brooklyn, New York, Chush is a school that caters to learning disabled children. Some children remain in Chush for their entire school career, while others can be mainstreamed into conventional Jewish schools. At a Chush fund-raising dinner, the father of a Chush child delivered a speech that would never be forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school and its dedicated staff, he cried not,“Where is the perfection in my son Shaya?Everything God does is done with perfection. But my child cannot understand things as other children do. My child cannot remember facts and fgures as other children do. Where is God's perfection?”
The audience was shocked by the question, pained by the father's anguish and stilled by the piercing query.“I believe,”the father answered,“that when God brings a child like this into the world, the perfection that He seeks is in the way people react to this child.”He thentold the following story about his son Shaya.
One afternoon Shaya and his father walked past a park where some boys Shaya knew were playing baseball.
Shaya asked,“Do you think they will let me play?”
Shaya's father knew that his son was not at all athletic and that most boys would not want him on their team. But Shaya's father understood that if his son were chosen to play it would give him a comfortable sense of belonging. Shaya's father approached one of the boys in the feld and asked if Shaya could play.
The boy looked around for guidance from his teammates. Getting none, he took matters into his own hands and said,“We are losing by six runs and the game is in the eighth inning. 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 smile broadly. Shaya was told 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 scheduled to be up. Would the team actually let Shaya bat at this juncture and give away their chance to win the game?Surprisingly, Shaya was given the bat. Everyone knew that it was all but impossible because Shaya didn't even know how to hold the bat properly, let alone hit with it. However, 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 frst pitch came in and Shaya swung clumsily and missed. One of Shaya's teammates came up to Shaya and together they held the bat and faced the pitcher waiting for the next pitch. The pitcher again took a few steps forward to toss the ball softly toward Shaya. As the pitchcame in, Shaya and his teammate swung the bat and together they hit a slow ground ball to the pitcher. The pitcher picked up the soft grounder and could easily have thrown the ball to the frst 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 feld, far beyond the reach of the frst baseman. Everyone started yelling,“Shaya, run to frst. Run to frst!”Never in his life had Shaya run to frst. 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 that would tag out Shaya, who was still running. But, the right felder 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. As Shaya reached second base, the opposing shortstops ran to him, turned him in the direction of third base and shouted,“Run to third.”As Shays 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 and made him the 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.”
查斯是紐約布魯克林的一所學校，它是專為有學習障礙的孩子開辦的。一部分孩子會在這裏完成全部學業，而另一部分孩子會轉入一般的猶太學校。一次，在查斯的籌款宴會上，一位學生家長發表了一篇讓現場所有人都難以忘懷的演講。他首先稱讚了學校和盡責的教職工，接著大喊道：“我兒子沙亞什麽地方是完美的？上帝所做的一切都是盡善盡美的。其他孩子能夠理解事物，而我的孩子卻不能，也不能像他們那樣牢記事實和數字。上帝所謂的完美在哪裏？”
這一問，震驚了全場觀眾。他們深切地感受到這位父親的痛苦。如此尖銳的質問讓他們愣住了。“我認為。”這位父親自答道，“當上帝將這樣的孩子帶到世界上時，人們對這個孩子的態度就是他所尋求的完美。”接著，他講了這個關於沙亞的故事。
一日午後，沙亞和父親穿過公園時，看到沙亞認識的一些男孩正在玩棒球。
沙亞問：“你認為他們會不會讓我玩？”
父親清楚兒子對運動一竅不通，而且多數男孩也不會想讓他加入他們的隊伍。但他也明白，如果兒子能被接受，那將會給兒子帶來快樂的歸屬感。因此，他走到球場內的一個男孩麵前，詢問能否讓沙亞加入。
男孩環顧四周，想從隊友那裏得到意見。但沒人反應，於是他決定自己做主，說：“我們現在落後6分，但比賽已經是第8局了。我認為他可以加入我們隊，我們會盡量讓他打第9局。”
沙亞的父親喜出望外，沙亞也露出了燦爛的笑容。男孩們讓他戴上手套打中外野手。第八局下半場時，盡管沙亞的隊贏得了幾分，但依舊落後三分。第九局下半場時，沙亞的隊又得分了。此時，出局的有兩個壘手，滿壘還擁有一個壘位打點，那是絕對有希望獲勝的。按照計劃，輪到沙亞上場了。但在如此關鍵時刻，他們會放棄獲勝的希望而讓沙亞擊球嗎？出乎意料的是，他們把球棒遞到了沙亞手中。沙亞連如何拿好球棒都不知道，更不用說擊球了，因此所有人都明白，勝利是不可能了。但在沙亞向壘板走去時，投手移動了幾步，放低手，輕輕將球緩慢地投了過來，這樣沙亞最起碼可以碰到球。第一次投球過來時，沙亞笨拙地掄了一下球棒，但沒有擊中。於是，一個隊友走過來和沙亞一起握著球棒，麵朝投手，等待著第二次投球。投手還是挪了幾步，輕輕地將球朝沙亞投過來。沙亞和他的隊友一起揮動球棒，打出了一個很慢的滾地球。投手接起這個輕柔的滾地球，他本可以輕易把它傳給一壘手，這樣沙亞就會出局，比賽也就會結束。
相反，投手拿到球後，高高地拋出一個大弧線，將球投到了右半場，這樣一壘手根本接不著。所有人都開始喊：“沙亞，跑到一壘，跑到一壘！”此前，沙亞還從未跑到過一壘去。他匆匆地跑過壘線，驚奇得睜大了眼睛。當他跑到一壘時，右外野手已接到球了。他本可以把球傳給二壘手，這樣就可以把奔跑中的沙亞觸殺出局。但右外野手理解投手的意思，因此把球往遠處拋去，甚至高過了二壘手的頭。人們都在喊：“跑到二壘，跑到二壘。”於是沙亞跑向二壘。同時，隊員已經瘋狂地衝到他前麵朝著本壘，將壘圍了起來。沙亞跑到二壘時，對方的遊擊手向他跑來，將他引向三壘，並喊道：“往三壘跑。”當沙亞轉到三壘時，兩隊的男孩都在他後麵大喊：“沙亞，跑回本壘！”沙亞跑到本壘，站在本壘板上。所有18個男孩把他當做英雄，舉在肩膀上，因為他剛打了一個“滿壘全壘打”，為自己這一隊贏得了比賽。
“那一天，”這位父親輕聲說著，眼淚順著臉頰淌了下來，“那18個孩子達到了上帝所創造的完美。”
W詞匯筆記
extol[iks't?l]v.頌揚；稱讚
例 If you extol dawn, please embrace night too then.
如果你曾歌頌黎明，那麽也請你擁抱黑夜。
anguish['??ɡwi?]n.苦惱；痛苦
例 How ability from inside anguish the fastest go?
怎樣才能從痛苦中最快地走出來？
ecstatic[ik'st?tik]adj.狂喜的；入迷的
例 But stop and loiter all the time to sing it in ecstatic songs.
隻是一直停留著徘徊著，用歡樂的歌曲來歌唱這些東西。
juncture['d???kt??]n.連接；接合；接縫
例 At the critical juncture, he still kept his composure.
在那危急的時刻，他還保持著安詳的神態。
S小試身手
當上帝將這樣的孩子帶到世界上時，人們對這個孩子的態度就是他所尋求的完美。
譯________________________________________
父親清楚兒子對運動一竅不通，而且多數男孩也不會想讓他加入他們的隊伍。
譯________________________________________
那18個孩子達到了上帝所創造的完美。
譯________________________________________
P短語家族
He seeks is in the way people react to this child.
react to：作出反應
造________________________________________
He could have thrown the ball to the second baseman that would tag out Shaya, who was still running.
tag out：觸殺出局
造________________________________________