I was alone in the boatyard, with my back to the wind, on a chilly fall afternoon. The sailing season was ending and I was trying to scrub clean a dark smudge marring the glistening white surface of the hull of my 18’ Hunter sailboat before dry docking it until spring. The unsightly blemish was a conspicuous reminder that I needed more practice docking. Out of nowhere, a young man suddenly appeared and hesitantly approached me. He was in his late 20s, clean-cut, with a neatly trimmed beard.

It was not unusual for a passerby to stop at the boatyard and inquire about yacht club membership or activities. But this visitor had something else in mind. When I offered to help, he introduced himself as R J and politely asked whether it would be all right if he videotaped the river’s waves as they lapped against the side of the dock.

I wondered whether he found the rhythmic movement of the waves fascinating as I found their sound.

“Sure,” I said. “Any particular reason?”

He explained that he was preparing a presentation for a youth ministry program. I assumed he was working on a motivational piece intended to strengthen young people’s faith in God.

As R J and his colleague, Dan, prepared for the filming, we continued our conversation. Since I assumed the video would carry a religious message, I told him that he might be interested in the significance of the name RUACH, painted prominently on the side of my boat.

He nodded, affirmatively.

I obliged, “Ruach is a Hebrew word found throughout the........

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