Last week, we spent a magical impromptu Shabbat with my brother and sister-in-law, and their community at Chabad of Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.
I was in Miami for a meeting with our Belev Echad soldiers, scheduled to return to NY for Shabbat, but my wife suggested she and the kids join me for the weekend in Florida instead.
My initial reaction was “No way! How will you fly by yourself with all the kids?” But Shevy was determined and started looking for flights. Tickets were expensive, but she didn’t give up, and eventually found and booked very cheap ones—with a caveat: It was a Friday flight, landing in Miami airport, but since Shabbat came in late we would have enough time to make it to Palm Beach before Shabbat.
Somehow, Shevy made it to the airport with all eight kids! But once they were settled on the plane, the plane went nowhere.
One hour, and then another, they sat on the tarmac.
Finally, the pilot announced that they were delayed because of poor weather in Miami. Meanwhile, the weather in Miami was fine! I joked to Shevy, “Tell the pilot your husband is looking out the window in Miami and it’s perfectly clear and fine!”
The longer the plane idled, the more our window to get from Miami to Palm Beach before Shabbat shrank. But getting off the plane was not an option, so we hoped and prayed for the best.
It was nerve wracking, but we figured it’s just one weekend. We don’t normally do this. The discomfort will be short lived.
Finally, the plane took off, and I headed to the airport to meet them. I arranged to have a car pick us all up and rush us directly from Miami airport to Palm Beach before Shabbat, at the same time trying to come up with a backup plan in case we didn’t make it.
To make matters worse, traffic was terrible, and even once we made it into the car with all our luggage and all our humans (double counted to make sure we didn’t forget anyone!), we crawled.
And again, I reminded myself, “It’s just one weekend. Soon we’ll be home.”
Now, on Friday afternoon after Shabbat comes in, there is an additional 18 minutes until the actual onset of Shabbat, which can be used in urgent situations. We made it literally in the last minute of those 18 minutes. Whew!
My brother gave us a beautiful guest room, and the kids were supposed to sleep with their cousins. But as we settled in that night, one triplet decided to sleep with us, and then another and another… Soon enough, their older sister insisted on sleeping with us and their brother too. So we ended up sharing our room with five out of our eight kids!
As I crawled into my bed, trying not to step on anyone, I figured, “this is only for two nights; soon we’ll be home,” and I imagined my comfortable bed at home with all the kids sleeping in their own rooms.
In the morning, I woke up with kids everywhere and a crick in my neck, but again I consoled myself: “It’s only temporary.”
And then on Sunday our return flight was meant to land in NY early evening, so we could go straight home and put the kids to bed at a normal time. But alas, that Sunday thousands of flights were canceled, leaving thousands of people stranded, unable to return home.
Our flight kept getting delayed again and again and again.
Finally, we arrived home at 2am and put all the kids to bed. And all we could tell ourselves was, “This is just a weekend experience. Our kids had fun with their cousins, so it was worth it even with all the discomfort and inconveniences.”
And as I finally crawled into my bed, at home, with no kids in the room, I realized this entire trip had been a lesson for me. You see, we live in this world very temporarily—120 years if we’re lucky.
This is not our real home. We are only traveling, passing through. And so we need to focus on the real things; the important things. Things like amassing Torah and mitzvot. That’s what counts in our real home.
We can manage without the luxuries and creature comforts. We’re just traveling—we can manage with the essentials only.
Next week, when we sit around our Pesach Seder table and we proclaim, “Next year in Jerusalem!” — that is when we will finally be home!