When his father, an academic who enjoyed physics over sports, asked his fourteen-year-old son where he would like to go, the young boy did not hesitate.
"Let's go to a New York Islander hockey game."
Inwardly, his father cringed; attending a professional sporting event was one thing.
However, going to a hockey game meant watching adult men fight while, between the brawls, the men attempted to hit a moving puck, a hard disk of vulcanized rubber.
Yet, he gave his son his word, and if that meant heading out to the Nassau Coliseum to watch the New York Islanders, so be it.
As they arrived, the young man realized they had first-row seats.
Yet, as they settled in, the protective plexiglass shield in front of them- (installed to protect the fans from the potential flying puck that can reach a speed of over 100 mph) restricted the boy's ability to see the game.
As his father noticed his son's discomfort, he turned to one of the officials and asked if they could change seats to a place with an unhindered view of the ice. The official explained that it would be impossible to change seats due to safety concerns.
Perhaps it was his father's intervention or simply the kindness of a man who felt bad for a fourteen-year-old; whatever the reason, during a break in the action, the scorekeeper turned to our fourteen-year-old friend and handed him a puck.
As the boy held the puck, he could not believe he was touching a puck that Mike Bossy, his favorite player, had most certainly touched with his hockey stick.
The boy held on to that puck for decades.
Yet, when our former fourteen-year-old friend thinks back to the game over thirty years ago, he does not dwell on the details of the game.
Rather, as he looks back to the day in 1986, there is only one memory that he cherishes.
And that memory is that of his father.
His father was not a sports enthusiast.
He was a man of study and research who enjoyed contemplating science over the fleeting cheers of the sport's arenas.
Yet, this same man made sure to purchase prime seats for his special private outing with his son.
This father sat excitedly in the arena next to his son, even facilitating his son's acquisition of the beloved Mike Bossy puck.
Our young hockey fan's father successfully conveyed to his son that there was nothing more important than to spend quality private time with his son.
The son knew that, at that moment, he was the most important person in his father's life.
And that lesson stayed with our young friend for life.
The puck has eventually disappeared.
Yet, the heartwarming feeling of being loved by his father remains forever.
This former hockey enthusiast no longer focuses on the New York Islanders.
He is now immersed in Torah.
Yet, that evening remains etched on his Neshama as he continues to draw inspiration from that evening 37 years ago.
He learned that night the meaning of true love.
He realized that letting the person you are with know they are the focal point of your life was the most authentic way to show them you care.
He committed to being like his father and being totally focused on the person he is with.
If you are privileged to spend time with our former Mike Bossy fan, you will be mesmerized by his Torah knowledge and swept away by his brilliant eloquence.
Yet, most importantly, as you speak with him, you will feel and realize that nothing in his world matters except you.
When you are in his presence, you too will feel, as I have, that at that moment, you are the most important matter in his life.
If you are privileged to meet with our protagonist, ask him about the hockey puck.
Don't worry about causing him discomfort.
In fact, I can assure you it will bring a big smile to the face of Rabbi Eytan Feiner- the wonderful and esteemed Rav of the White Shul in Far Rockaway.
Rabbi Eisenman
