Listen Up Baaza! Dayton Davy Matters

We matter. Me. You. Everyone. Matters.

This is one of the hardest lessons in life I think there is to master honestly and objectively: The art of Matter.

People love to ascribe to themselves accolades that are far-fetched, while others play a role in others lives, yet feel as if they are utterly useless.

In Torah, we are taught that people matter, and people can even matter like Moshe Rabbeinu or Avraham Avinu!

The main secret of Mazal, is that we all do matter, and we all have something significant to give to the World; the premise being the World needs YOU because you Matter!

Every now and again we get an insight to this and for that moment we can feel that we are on somebody's map of personal significance. The goal is to harness this Ko-ach and elevate our Mazal and begin to really Matter...even change the World.

We are all a part of God's Plan and we need to see the World as an arena of His Mazal, of which we are the star from our perspective.

Here is a small example I found that illustrates this point, even on a low key profound level:

I am a registered voter of Montgomery County of Ohio, and this year's election as many know has the potential to change the World forever, even in a Geulah way.

As I was speaking with a friend [in conjunction with my lack of knowledge of the dynamics of American voting, as most of my adult life I've only voted in Israel] about "Swing States" [which I always knew Ohio is one] he revealed to me that Ohio can come down to 4 counties that can effect the entire election. As I read about it, [I figured as much] Montgomery County is one of them [as Dayton is a city with a population of over 1,000,000 when you weigh in the entire area]
therefore the Dayton voters [especially this year] really MATTER!

It makes sense now more of my upbringing, why people there are a "different type of smart", why they take politics so seriously there [and religion is worthless there, which I never understood!] , and why they push this type of agenda in the schools.

It makes everything come into perspective - this is their chelek of MATTERING.

If my pathetic little vote means that much [which is a chiddush, because most people think/know their vote is useless in the electoral college system], then this sheds light on the concept of mattering.

We all Matter, whether it is politics, or whatever. It needs to be believed and realized and even internalized. We are all here for a reason. Nothing is accident. And in the end, it all boils down to Mazal.

When I was in yeshiva, they used to call me Dayton Davy, as the buchrim were all from real cities: NY, Toronto, London, LA, etc...and me from Dayton Ohio. It was hard for me to think I mattered back then, as my path to yeshiva was radically different than the rest. Yet in the end, I began to realize that I mattered, and that I was unique: a Baal Teshuva from Dayton actually can find God?! I was the only Jew in a high school of 2500 kids.

I am slowly starting to see how this works. And I can fathom how a Jew in Galus matters. Now I  can see it even a little clearer: A Jew from Dayton can actually help bring Geulah - with a little vote out of Montgomery County.

Who knew this was my Mazal. Now I wonder - where will my Mazal take me next? Just how much can one Matter?
Now more than ever, its a little more exciting to wait to find out, for if Dayton can Matter and all that I knew/know of it there - anything is possible.


WDTN.com:

President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden underscored the importance of swing state Ohio on Tuesday in a rare joint appearance at a rally in Dayton.

Facing a tight race in the pivotal state, Obama urged supporters to recruit friends and make phone calls for him to help him carry their home area and Ohio. He said they can make a difference if they help him get out of the vote.

"We'll win Montgomery County again, we'll win Ohio again, we'll win this election," Obama said, drawing cheers of "Four more years!"

The Democrat carried Ohio over Republican John McCain in 2008 and has campaigned in the pivotal state frequently, while his campaign and its supporters have devoted heavy portions of spending and time there.

Biden also stressed the state's key voters at an earlier stop.

"We win Ohio, we win the election. Folks, we need you," Biden told about 1,500 people in Toledo.

Christy Watkins, 58, arrived several hours early for the Dayton rally, which fire officials estimated drew about 9,500 people.

Wearing an Obama T-shirt and button, she said she felt good about the president's chances in Ohio. "I'm not listening to the polls too much," she said. "I don't get into that kind of thing."

Republican Mitt Romney's campaign says he has been gaining in Ohio with two weeks left until Election Day. A Quinnipiac University/CBS News poll released Monday put Obama ahead with 50 percent to Romney's 45 percent in Ohio, down from a 10-point lead in a Sept. 26 survey. The margin of error for the poll conducted Oct. 17-20 was plus or minus 2.5 percent.

"Romney's picking up momentum. You can just see it," said Scott Jennings, his Ohio state campaign director. Jennings said the campaign has a powerful "ground game," reaching millions of voters with door-to-door canvassing and phone banks.

"There is just no comparison in the state to 2008," Jennings said. "We have just blown it out on voter contacts."

The Obama campaign says it has built upon a strong 2008 organization in Ohio. It recently opened its 125th field office, triple the number of campaign offices Romney has in the state. They are promoting the support Obama gave the rebounding auto industry in the state.

"Ohioans know that the right path forward for the U.S. lies with President Obama," former Gov. Ted Strickland said in a statement Monday night. The Democrat is a campaign chairman for Obama.

The Romney campaign thinks it can swing votes in eastern Ohio, where there are concerns about the Obama administration's coal policies.

Cheryl Austin, 57, an unemployed Steubenville office worker, said she is seeing "an awful lot of Romney supporters" in her area.

"That concerns me, because I just don't feel Romney tells the truth," she said while attending an Obama rally in Wintersville last week featuring former President Bill Clinton.

A supporter who turned out Tuesday morning to see Biden at the University of Toledo said he was seeing more Republican signs in his home area.

"I don't see near that many Democrat signs," said Tom Joseph, a retired electrician from Tiffin who has been canvassing for Obama in northwest Ohio.

While there is less visible enthusiasm, he said, he expects Obama to carry Ohio again because of his auto industry support.

Some longtime Obama supporters in the Cincinnati area have said that they don't see the same level of enthusiasm as in 2008, but that they are working hard to persuade voters that the stakes are too high to sit this one out.

In Columbus, Brandi Gilbert, 25, said she will vote for Obama this year as she did in 2008 and thinks he has done as well as possible, considering Republican congressional opposition.

Asked at a recent Obama rally at Ohio State University whether she expects him to win Ohio, she replied: "In a perfect world, yes, but you never say never. But I'm going to say yes."

One thing is for sure: Ohioans will see plenty of the candidates and their campaigns in the final two weeks. No Republican has won the White House without carrying Ohio, and no president has been elected without Ohio since Democrat John F. Kennedy in 1960. Many electoral projections say winning Ohio this year likely will be decisive to winning the election.

Biden began the second day of a three-day swing through Ohio in Toledo, and the president will return Thursday evening for a rally in Cleveland. GOP running mate Paul Ryan will speak Wednesday at Cleveland State University, with Romney scheduled Thursday to be at a Cincinnati machine and manufacturing plant that also produces military components.

"You're going to see Romney and Ryan in the state a great amount," Jennings said. "It all underscores the importance of Ohio. It may well be (Ohio voters) who decide who is the next president of the United States."

 

 

If a Jew Can Make It Out Of Dayton
And Find His Way To Yeshiva:
Anything Is Possible!
Believe You Matter!