I hardly ever get to take a vacation, much less go away on one. So my family was thrilled when a close friend offered us a week’s stay in a house in Kent Island, Maryland. A day into our getaway, while relaxing in this beautiful home overlooking a serene lake, we suddenly felt the entire house quiver. Dismissing it as a severe wind, we took no note of it, until twenty seconds later it shook again. Very hard.
Years of growing up in a South African fortress-home equipped with a state-of-the-art alarm system and surrounded by tall fences and barbed wire immediately alerted me of an impending attack. My gut instinct was to grab the largest stick at hand and run outside with my wife and kids to await the robbers about to descend from the roof. A brief survey of the house provided clear results, as well as the hundreds of Facebook comments informing me of nothing but a mere earthquake. Nothing I couldn’t handle with my stick. I could breathe again.
After the nuisance of the earthquake, we went right back to the task of enjoying our vacation, until we began receiving reports of hurricane Irene. Once again, we dismissed the warnings and tried hard to concentrate on our holiday. On Friday at 2pm we were informed that the entire area was under mandatory evacuation order. Halfway through my vacation I was being thrown out! But with Shabbat rapidly approaching, we packed our luggage and rushed into the car. Half an hour into our escape we realized there was no way we could make it to Manhattan on time, so we called my sister-in-law in Pennsylvania to spend Shabbat with them.
The entire saga, as usual, got my brain ticking. What lesson can I learn from the whole ordeal? For me it was clear as day that this is what G-d intended me to learn:
We currently find ourselves in the month of Elul. This pensive month precedes the High Holidays and thus our Sages tell us that now is the time to repent, to make an accounting of our deeds and seek to improve ourselves spiritually. This holy month is a time when G-d comes down to greet us and comfort us, allowing us to come close to Him and connect with Him. All year round the King resides in His palace, surrounded by His guards. Only once a year does he venture out to the field where anybody can approach Him.
I believe that that earthquake was giving me a physical and spiritual shake- Wake Up! Get ready for Rosh Hashana! After I went back to my life and ignored its message, G-d sent me the marshal to issue a mandatory evacuation order- get out of the fairytale world of vacation and back to hardcore reality. It’s time to repent and prepare.