As we enter 2021 under the shadow of Tier 4, most of us find ourselves wanting to forget 2020 as quickly as possible. But this has also been a year when the strength of the human spirit has shone through. This has been a year of ordinary heroes.
Long after the pain of 2020 has faded into the background, the individual stories of human triumph over adversity, of personal selflessness and self-sacrifice that have emerged this year will remain strong. They will become stories that we will relate to our children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Here are my personal heroes of 2020.
My first hero is my 88-year-old grandmother. Someone who always smiles and is always positive, but who also loves being with others. She became my hero when she had to spend both seder nights (and an entire three-day Yomtov) alone. We spoke to her endlessly before Yomtov, and those who lived nearby waved through the windows at her Jewish Care assisted living facility. What more could we do? But when we were finally able to phone her after Yom Tov, the pride we felt at still hearing the smile in her voice, at her own pride in saying that she kept Yomtov properly by herself, made the entire family feel that she was a true superstar. A real triumph over adversity, she is my hero of 2020.
My next hero is a barmitzvah boy who did not know whether he would be able to have a barmitzvah at all. Then, almost miraculously, on the very first day we were able to re-open the shul on July 4, he stood at the bimah completely by himself because of social-distancing requirements and read the entire sedra. Hearing him and his family say that all that mattered to them was for him to be called to the Torah in shul was extraordinarily moving. It made me realise that the party, the kiddush, the extensive guest lists have all receded into the background this year — and we have been left with what really counts. Watching the dignity, commitment and maturity of that young man made him another hero of my 2020.
My next heroes are those who became leading lights of the community volunteering network. People who were asked to become buddies with others, to pick up the phone occasionally, just to check on elderly, isolated members of the community — and who ended up becoming their lifeline of support. The people who jumped in the car to pick up a prescription from the chemist at a moment’s notice, or to deliver some fruit. And the people who cried like they had lost a member of their own family when their buddy sadly passed away. They are my heroes of 2020, because when you become a volunteer to help others in a time of crisis, it stays with you for life.
There has also been another type of 2020 heroic volunteer, perhaps less obvious than the former — the brave, mask-wearing, shul-going men who showed up for services day in day out, whenever it was legally possible to hold services. They had a difficult choice to make. No one would have blamed them for staying at home for safety reasons. Yet they were determined to make sure the shul had a minyan. When the chips were down, they saw it as an “essential service” and themselves as “essential workers”. I salute them too and their heroic efforts this year.
And finally, my heroes of 2020 are those who had the most difficult task of all, particularly in the early months. The members of the chevra kadisha who had to deal with the relentless funerals in March and April. My rabbinic colleagues in large communities with elderly constituencies who showed extraordinary levels of personal care, compassion and self-sacrifice to bereaved families, even as they tried to juggle the complexities of their own lives under lockdown. The people who made it their mission to comfort others when it seemed very little comfort could be found. They are my personal heroes this year.
These heroic stories aren’t unique. You will no doubt recognise people in your own lives who sound very similar to them. But, in a way, that is exactly what makes them special. They are the stories I will take with me from this year, they are the stories that I intend to make my defining memories of 2020. Through making it a year of ordinary heroes it can become a beacon of inspiration and hope for many years to come.
