common cause

how's rabbi meiselman? you see him? i asked.

he lives two blocks away from me. he's doing fine, rocky answered.

"he had a very quiet son, a little genius? whatever became of him?" i asked, my memory stirred.

"what if i told you he went off the derech?" rocky retorted.

instinct told me rocky was pulling my leg, probing my tender spot, my weakness, my own leaving the derech. a look into his eyes confirmed this. but i answered any way.

"it would encourage me. it would intrigue me," i answered.

he rolled his eyes.

"he's learning torah," rocky ended this line of thought.

rocky doesn't like being called rocky these days, he prefers yerachmiel. who am i to dispute this. if muhammad ali can beat floyd paterson mercilessly for calling him cassius clay instead of the name given him by the honorable elijah muhammad, why should i give rocky a tough time for prefering his Hebrew name given to him at birth? still, i call him rocky.

but the point is that particularly meiselman's son, if he had gone off the derech would be intriguing to me. where did he head? what drove him off the path? will i ever cross paths with him? can we make common cause?

and i suppose that is at the basis of this blog. to find others who have left the derech and possibly make common cause.