For those of you who have not heard, almost three weeks ago (October 5) I was in a rather nasty car accident. According to the Highway Patrol, when I lost control of my car, I rolled over four times and landed on my wheels in the middle of a bean field. I have always been a believer when it comes to seatbelts. Baruch HaShem, I was wearing my seatbelt.
>From the opinion of the State Patrol, the paramedics who had to carry me on a spinal board back up to the road (I apologized to them for not having lost the weight prior to the accident) and the medical staff at St. Anthony’s in Crown Point, I was very lucky to have survived. One of the nurses put it so sweetly, “You survived because of Who you work for!”
I was the guest of the hospital for a bit over four hours, enough time for the EMTs, my doctors and the State Patrol to trust that I was not going to pass out, drop dead or become some other kind of a nuisance. I was observed as my fever advanced from normal to clearly not normal and was questioned frequently about my constant pain level—beginning with a modest three and ending at, “You have got to be kidding!”
At the High Holy Days, just before Hineni, we thank the Divine for having preserved us, even though we are S-O-O unworthy. This Gomel prayer entered my mind many times. However, something was clearly missing.
I remember people who saw a renewed purpose to their existence because of their near-death experience: marching orders from the Divine! I had nothing like that. Repent, O Sinner! I did not hear that command, although there is much for me to do in that regard.
As I sat there, trying to get out of the seatbelt, I felt no renewed commitment, no invigorating of my soul: Get up, brush the glass off and get back to work! Our obligation to turn the world that is into the world that could possibly be is not put on hold because of a driving error. The vibrancy that only you and I can infuse into Judaism does not go on vacation while we mend.
The measure of our efforts to ensure Israel’s survival is not found on high points along the way. Rather, it is achieved by embracing all the joy that Judaism has to offer on a daily basis. Windshields shatter. Car tops crumble. But the words we say and the acts that we perform when worshipping and building a loving community—these live on forever.
B’Shalom
Rabbi Stanley Halpern