In this week's parsha, the Jewish people commit the heinous sin of idolatry by worshiping the Golden Calf. After this sin, God wants to destroy the Jewish people and start a new nation stemming solely from the descendants of Moshe. Moshe refuses this offer and tells God to remove him from the Torah if he plans on wiping out the Jewish people.
Summer in the early 1950’s was a scary time in America. No kids in the movie theater, the pool or the ice cream parlor. The Polio epidemic had gripped the United States. Thousands of children were becoming paralyzed daily. It was a harrowing time.
Jonas Salk was watching this plague envelope the country. He was a virologist and was working on a vaccine for Polio, and it worried many that his cure worked by injecting people with dead Polio virus. He responded by stating; "I will be personally responsible for the vaccine." He announced that his wife and three sons had been among the first volunteers to be inoculated with his vaccine. In a matter of months after the vaccine was introduced the debilitating epidemic was neutralized.
With no interest in personal profit, Dr Salk [when asked on a televised interview "who owned the patent to the vaccine?"] replied: "There is no patent. Could you patent the sun?". This behavior is unheard of in today's world of copyrights and patents. His personal self sacrifice in developing a cure was truly for the good of the nation. He was not interested in personal gain.
An old American legend tells that after George Washington emerged the victorious general in the revolution against England, some people were so enamored by him they wished to make him the first King of America. He passed on that offer and presided as the President of the United States, proceeding to set a presidential precedent presently perpetuated.
Moshe, Jonas Salk , George Washington and countless other selfless leader’s have made personal sacrifices for the good of the community. This is a key aspect of being a great leader. These types of sacrifices are made every day, by parents, teachers, nurses and hundreds of others who will never get the recognition of George Washington or Jonas Salk. It is these unsung heros that I salute on Presidents day. They are our nation’s true leaders.
Summer in the early 1950’s was a scary time in America. No kids in the movie theater, the pool or the ice cream parlor. The Polio epidemic had gripped the United States. Thousands of children were becoming paralyzed daily. It was a harrowing time.
Jonas Salk was watching this plague envelope the country. He was a virologist and was working on a vaccine for Polio, and it worried many that his cure worked by injecting people with dead Polio virus. He responded by stating; "I will be personally responsible for the vaccine." He announced that his wife and three sons had been among the first volunteers to be inoculated with his vaccine. In a matter of months after the vaccine was introduced the debilitating epidemic was neutralized.
With no interest in personal profit, Dr Salk [when asked on a televised interview "who owned the patent to the vaccine?"] replied: "There is no patent. Could you patent the sun?". This behavior is unheard of in today's world of copyrights and patents. His personal self sacrifice in developing a cure was truly for the good of the nation. He was not interested in personal gain.
An old American legend tells that after George Washington emerged the victorious general in the revolution against England, some people were so enamored by him they wished to make him the first King of America. He passed on that offer and presided as the President of the United States, proceeding to set a presidential precedent presently perpetuated.
Moshe, Jonas Salk , George Washington and countless other selfless leader’s have made personal sacrifices for the good of the community. This is a key aspect of being a great leader. These types of sacrifices are made every day, by parents, teachers, nurses and hundreds of others who will never get the recognition of George Washington or Jonas Salk. It is these unsung heros that I salute on Presidents day. They are our nation’s true leaders.
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