How does this Torah portion, Haazeenu connect to Bears from Bergenfield's early beginnings? Haazeenu can also allude to the word meaning scales. In my understanding, I take that to mean, that we need to recalibrate in whatever way we can discern. Why did we begin Bears from Bergenfield, if not for reaching out and comforting someone. It states in this week's Parashah, that we need to see Gd as a Being of a Rock and Perfect, meaning that Gd would be a refuge, a protector, faithful and reliable.  How can we imbue those characteristics into ourselves and our actions? Bears from Bergenfield was a perfect place to begin. It was 9/11 and Shira was attending SSDS at the time. A classmate lost her mother in that act of terrorism. This mother had stepped up to organize the etrog and lulav deliveries for the school. I thought that since she had stepped up, then I would as well, in some capacity, in her memory.  This mother was gone. But the void to be filled of stepping up was still ever present. I brought Shira along with me to pay a shiva call, along with a teddy bear . I did not know the family.  But I thought that we knew how to comfort. We offered the small teddy bear to the girl. We had no idea what she would do with the teddy bear but the gesture had been made. That was our way of paying our shiva call. The seeds for Bears from Bergenfield were planted. I wanted Shira to see that being present was important as well as being a witness to seeing Gd's Torah put into action . It just takes a ripple, or even a teddy bear to make a difference, a recalibration. Shalom, Rabbi Claire Ginsburg Goldstein, the teddy bear Rabbi.