Rabbi Nachum Shifren

The Surfing Rabbi, and Teacher in Public School
(Rabbi Nachum Shifren is currently teaching/fighting at Audubon Middle School in Los Angeles. For information on his new book, "Surfing Rabbi", go on line to Amazon.com or Surfingrabbi.com.)

    I was proud of my father's spirit of honoring his country during WWII. He went off to San Diego and started his basic training in the Navy, where he went on to become a combat fitness instuctor. As a little boy, I was awe-struck about his truer-than-life tales about Corregidor, Iwo Jima, and of course, Pearl Harbor.

    Forty years later, as a father of four, and as a public school teacher, it is my honor and privelege to pass on th tales of courage and patriotism of that "most just" war. So it was that I became a teacher in LA Unified School District, imbued with the same patriotic feelings toward my country as myfather, seeking to inculcate mystudents with that burning fire of freedom that had stayed with me all those years.

    How I was to be disappointed! One of my first assignments was Fairfax High (my father's old alma mater!). It was December 7. On this day, I feel different for some reason. Call me weird, I don't know. I waited for some sort of announcement on the PA system from the principal, or the very least, the History Department chairman about flags at half-mast, saying a few words for the fallen, the usual. The day went by without so much as a word. Ten o'clock bell, eleven o'clock, the lunch bell-nothing. I was bothered, frustrated- an inner sanctuary inside me was being defiled. Instinctively, I marched into the principal's office.

    "Did someone forget to remind the students and staff about December 7?", I asked naiively.

    "Regarding?", the principal gave me a strange look.

    "December 7, Pearl Harbor Day," T tried to keep an objective posture.

    "Oh no, not with our diversity here," was her inane retort. "Our Oriental students might feel uncomfortable. It's our policy to remain non-judgemental in all areas. We need to provide a safe environment where all feelings are respected."

    Psychobabble, par excellence!

    But the day would prove to be more interesting than I had thought.

    Suddenly, before the dismissal bell, the student body president cam on the PA with the following announcement:

    "To all Fairfax students, come and show your patriotism and democratic spirit at our Gay and Lesbian pride school prom. All are welcome inthis celebration of freedom and multi-culturalism. Show your support for diversity and tolerance.

    If I hadn't heard it, I never would have believed it: Patriotism and courage of our soldiers was politically incorrect, but promoting Gay lifestyles.....no problem!

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