Do You Hear the Helicopter?

By Y.Y. Hodakov

This past Shabbos afternoon, Rosh Chodesh Nissan, two sixteen year old girls on a Shabbaton with their high school at a Florida resort went missing. Even when they were finally spotted late Sunday morning, it took rescue teams a couple of hours to cut through the thicket to reach them and bring them to safety.

The fact that these girls were found, so soon, virtually unharmed, is a miracle.

One need only think of the unthinkable fears that went through people’s minds when they first heard the news, imagine what other possible mishaps the girls might have experienced in the woods, or talk to people familiar with the real dangers of the terrain, to appreciate how thankful and joyful we must be.

What kept them going through their ordeal?

According to reports, the girls were constantly hopeful, because they trusted that they were being looked for, especially when they heard the sound of the helicopter flying above them.

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Sometimes we feel like we are facing darkness in life’s forest, feeling threatened by its challenges. We hold out by knowing that we are being looked out for. In every situation, He is up there, keeping an eye on us.

But sometimes, we may wonder. We look up to the heavens and ask G-d for a sign. Please, we pray, let me know that You’re there for me, let me know that You’re here, with me. Can’t You give me a sign?

That’s the function of miracles.

Every once in a while, G-d shows his hand. Something extraordinary occurs, that reminds us that He’s there, and that He’s been there all along.

Just as the sound of the helicopter encouraged the girls in the forest, their miraculous rescue can serve as the “sound” that encourages us. “Stay put”, he says “I’m coming to you!”

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Shabbat Shalom.

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Nu? What’s New?

By Y.Y. Hodakov

An old Jewish anecdote tells of a beggar who approaches a fellow leaving the synagogue after morning services.

“Could you spare some change?” He pleads.

“I already gave you a dollar on my way into the synagogue!”

“Please”, the beggar responds, “stop living in the past!”

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This week, a friend of mine in Israel was invited to attend the Bris (circumcision) of an immigrant from Uzbekistan, who is almost 80 years old. Gregory had only recently discovered that it was still possible for him to be circumcised, and was determined to go through with it, despite his age and physical condition.

After the Bris, when asked how he was feeling, Gregory jubilantly declared, “I feel like a Kosher and happy Jew!”

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Are you comfortable with the current level of your Jewish learning and living? Does the routine ever begin to feel stale? Or, does it help you feel grounded, secure in your predictable behavior?

This Shabbos, we take out three Torah scrolls.

In the third, we read what is known as “Parshas Hachodesh". It includes the Mitzvah of setting the Jewish calendar, month by month. When the moon is once again visible, having begun its new (= “Chadash”) cycle, the Jewish calendar begins a new month (= “Chodesh”).

Unlike the solar calendar that follows the more routine cycle of the sun, our lunar calendar highlights the need for constant renewal.

Most of us are not called on to face the challenge of considering having a Bris at 80. Yet, we would do well to regularly challenge ourselves to go beyond the comfort zone of what we have already achieved, and infusing our activities with new energy and vitality, reflecting the regular rebirth and renewal of the moon. We can do this by both adding to what we already do, and to infuse our ongoing activities with renewed vigor and energy.

Shabbat Shalom, Chodesh Tov.

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