After weeks of cleaning every nook and cranny of our home for Pesach, co-ordinating a colossal Pesach seder, running a bustling preschool and organizing several Chabad events, my wife Shevy was quite understandably wiped. That’s when we started planning her long awaited getaway. A full kids-free week in London was her perfect idea of relaxation. So to say that she was disappointed when an angry Icelandic volcano picked this exact week to erupt, thus shutting down several major airports, would be an understatement. Personally, I found it hard to conceal my glee at this perfect solution after weeks of wondering exactly why I had agreed to a seven day stint of round the clock babysitting. Unfortunately I celebrated too soon.
The flight was booked for Tuesday night. The day was spent in a frenzy of uncertainty as the airline was unable to confirm its departures until the eleventh hour. Finally at 5:30pm we received a phone call: the flight was scheduled to leave in just two hours. Within minutes Shevy had packed her bags and was on her way.
Amidst the strange quiet that followed Shevy’s exit, I could almost hear G-d laughing. Here hundreds of thousands of passengers had taken months planning their itineraries, thinking they had everything under control, when in a sudden flash everything came crashing down. To think that a mere volcano could thwart the plans of a technologically advanced world which basks in the conveniences of iPods and iPads, and has even conquered out of space! I think that every once in a while, G-d likes to remind us most spectacularly who really runs the show. We even pay tribute to this phenomenon every day during davening when we say, "רבות מחשבות בלב איש ועצת ה' היא תקום" - “many are the thoughts in the heart of man, but it is the counsel of G-d that will endure.”
The idea is illustrated in this week’s Parshah of Acharei Kedoshim. The Torah stipulates that the fruits of a newly planted tree may not be devoured in its’ first three years. In the fourth year the fruits may be eaten on condition that we consume them in Jerusalem. As of the fifth year, the fruits may be enjoyed at our leisure. The reason we take the fruits of the fourth year to the holy city is to remind us that before we may enjoy the labors of this world, we must first give thanks where it is due. G-d desires us to acknowledge His presence in this world, lest we forget by whose grace we live and prosper. In other words, sometimes G-d uses fruits to make a point, and sometimes He uses volcanoes.
Gal G., one of the ten wounded soldiers whom we will be hosting in Manhattan in June, sustained severe head injuries from flying shrapnel after friendly fire was mistakenly opened on his unit. Despite countless surgeries Gal is still left with many scars. Yet anybody who has seen these scars can attest to the fact that the marks covering his head clearly form the word "חי" (Chai). We cannot claim to know what purpose Gal’s injuries played in G-d’s Grand Plan, but perhaps through his vicious injuries, G-d intended a message for Gal… stay strong, I’m always with you. Am Yisrael Chai.
Sara H wrote...