Justice Richard Bernstein at the Project Inspire Convention 2019

at the project inspire convention you meet many extraordinary people you saw throughout the Shabbos you saw the videos of previous conventions we've met many many inspiring people our next presenter is not an exception Justice Richard Bernstein is a Supreme Court judge who advocates on behalf of disabled people he is an avid runner who completed 22 marathons including 13 New York City marathons he is also a frequent visitor of the Asia tour world centre and essentials classes which he himself has deemed life-changing he made the trip special to join us for Chavez from Detroit Michigan to be here with us and to inspire us ladies and gentlemen it's an honor to introduce to you the Honorable Justice Richard Bernstein [Applause] a writer once penned that during times of tragedy the streets of heaven are filled with angels we asked ourselves what kind of a God are you you take from us the kind the warm the good-natured the innocent what kind of a God are you yes the streets of heaven are filled with angels I got a call one morning of a wonderful young mom she said Richard I'm reaching out to you because I know where you care about people with special needs and those who are disabled help me to understand how I can follow all the rules I can do all this ass and yet God would give me a child with severe special needs tell me what kind of a life is my newborn gonna have is he gonna have friends is he gonna go to school if I ever become a grandparent what will happen when I'm no longer here to care for him I go to my friends homes and they're filled with life and energy and vitality what kind of a home am I gonna have when do you think my family will ever have an ordinary life and when do you think we will reach a point we will no longer have to suffer it was immediately after my election to Michigan's highest court they remember having a conversation with some other judges about what qualities must a person have to be a jurist when making decisions that affect people's entire lives their freedom their education their environment what qualities must a person have to render such a verdict and people said oh it's your academics it's your intellectualism it's your ability to research and to write and I remember saying none of those things allow for you to make such decisions when asked what is the quality that matters the most I responded by saying it is our life experiences life isn't always about being happy it's not always about smiling it's not always about finding joy Hashem gives us our life experiences for a purpose for a mission and for a reason he asks us to use the experiences that he gives to have an impact to create change so I remember telling this wonderful young mom there will be nothing about your life and your family's life and your child's life that will ever be ordinary again for you simply have to believe that you were sent here to be extraordinary and I don't believe that Hashem would ever create any spirit or any soul with the idea that they are sent here to suffer but there are some who do have to struggle and it's through that struggle you come to find identity it is through that struggle you come to find mission it is through that struggle you come to find purpose it is through that struggle that you come to know understand and truly appreciate him we ask ourselves [Applause] the eternal question which goes back to the book of Job which is why is it that if Hashem is so good he allows for such suffering why is it that bad things happen to otherwise such good people an easy life does not always correspond to a good one so often we will face setback struggle pain and hardship and people will come to us and they will say I hope that you make a full recovery but in life for many of us that's simply not possible the loss is too great the setback is too grand the pain is too much when we reach those points we can't focus and always recovering the key is to adapt each teaches us how to adapt to a new life to a new world to a new experience now I have been blessed as you've heard to have the opportunity to complete twenty two marathons and a full Ironman competition for those of you who are unfamiliar [Applause] the Iron Man is a 2.4 mile swim followed by a 112 mile bike to be completed by a 26.2 mile run the rules of the competition are quite simple if you stop if you rest if you take a break you run the risk of missing a cutoff if a cutoff is missed you'll be immediately disqualified from the competition if you finish at 1205 instead of 12 o'clock it was like you were never even there so I invite you to picture if you would the feeling you would have as you dive into a frigid body of water the water temperature that morning was 55 degrees imagine swimming in total darkness having no idea where you started or where you're going or where you are getting kicked in the face by all the other competitors and having others become entangled and ensnared in the rope that connects you to your guide as you become entangled the Rope becomes constrictive and as it constricts it starts taking you below the surface you try to get oxygen you try to get air but it becomes impossible age teaches us that at moments like this you come to find that the body is mortal and the body is infirmed but you also come to realize that the spirit and the soul can rise and reach levels that you never dreamed or ever thought was possible [Applause] we also come to find that life can change at an instant it can change without notice and without warning it was a beautiful day in New York Central Park I was walking in the pedestrian lane that serves as a circumference August 13th 85 degrees and sunny I had done 17 marathons and an Ironman I was in prime condition I've used athletics to challenge my blindness to find my strength to find my resilience to allow for me to have a sense of identity as I walked a bicyclist was traveling at a speed of an excess of 35 miles an hour and due to such a high rate of speed he could no longer maintain his bike and in doing so veered into the pedestrian lane where I was walking and struck me directly in the back now a 35 mile an hour impact is catastrophic it required over ten weeks of hospitalization at Mount Sinai Hospital life is never about the big things it is always about the little you remember how it felt to have a chance to not be able to use the bathroom or take a shower you remember missing what it was like to sleep the night without having to arrive an indescribable level of pain people would come to visit and I would ask them so tell me where are you going to go when you leave Mount Sinai and they tell me in a mundane rudimentary fashion that oh I'm gonna go back to the office or have some dinner pick up my dry-cleaning and always say those are the things that I crave those are the things I dream about those are the things that go to life at its essence and life its core it is never the big things is always the little things that make us who we are I ask each and every one of you here today to celebrate every victory every achievement endure how small or insignificant you might think it is I ask you to find joy in it in my situation I celebrated the fact that I could sit up in bed I celebrated the fact that I could use a walker and I celebrated the fact that I could reach the nurse's station at the end of my word now in the last many moments that I have with you here today I share with you one last story it was a short time ago and it was time for the New York City Marathon this would be my eighteenth marathon but the first after a katak tropic injury running through the streets of New York with a shattered hip and crushed pelvis was going to be quite difficult but in life there are certain things that just have to be done we ran to the streets and approached the 59th Street bridge at Mile 18 began running up first Avenue the pain was becoming so severe and so intense and I remember reaching up to the heavens and praying to his Shem if he would allow for me to finish this race without losing consciousness without passing out I believe it's okay to be angry with Hashem it's okay to be sad it's okay to be disappointed it's okay to express your discontent it's okay to have these emotions because they're human and they make us who we are it's more than appropriate when you come to find at certain points where the pain is so intense that's when your miracle will happen so that's when you will find a sense of peace peace with your new life peace with your new body peace with your new circumstance but most importantly you're able to make your peace with Hashem why is it that bad things happen to otherwise such good people and why is it that there are some who have to know a greater struggle or greater hardship than others H teaches us I believe the answer goes something like this at a certain point in life you can't spend your time and your energy and your effort focusing on how you're going to get over it for you come to realize that there is simply no other alternative but to just get on with it so we learn through our studies and we learn through our spirituality that's those who know struggle hardship and pain who will do what is hard and it sheave no less than what is great he must live our lives like a great story within any novel there will always be chapters chapters of pain setback frustration and loss it's only through those chapters you can come to find hope joy and triumph for the angel came upon Jacob deep into the night and there existed a tremendous battle that raged and tell the Sun rose at that time as the story goes that we all know so well the angel blessed Jacob but gave him a new name the name of Israel which as we know means one who struggles with God but Jacob was wounded after the battle he lived his life with a shattered hip and would walk with tremendous pain it is only through that struggle and through that pain and through that hardship that he was able to relate connect understand and empathize was only through his experiences if he could lead a people and be the founder of a nation if I hadn't had the experience as I have been able to have I wouldn't be as good at justice I wouldn't be as kind I wouldn't be as merciful I wouldn't be as understanding our life experiences are given to us for a reason let us celebrate the lives that we have for the good and for the bad but let us use the experiences that we are blessed with in the way that Hashem intended for them to be used and a celebrate life for who we are the way that we're created and what we are sent here to do but most importantly let us celebrate the idea that yes our bodies are mortal and for some of us they are infirmed but it is our spirits and it is our souls that truly know no balance and with that let us say [Applause] you know thank you judge Bernstein