While most of us have flown with dirty laundry in our suitcases, I would venture to guess that most of us have never considered taking a big bag of garbage on a plane. Yet, that is what happened in the following story:
The Rambam tells us that the shofar is calling to us, ” Awaken all people who are in a slumber.” The call of the shofar – of Rosh Hashanah and Elul – tells us to inspect our deeds and improve our ways.
A talented and popular speaker from Eretz Yisrael organized a trip to kivrei tzaddikim in Poland, and several people from Eretz Yisrael signed up. The trip would begin on a Monday morning in Elul, and they would be returning home by the following Sunday night.
The speaker would speak well, and the audience would be inspired and entertained, but a lot of organizing was still needed for this trip to be a success. Hotels needed to be booked in advance, food for a week’s time needed to be prepared or arranged, buses needed to be ordered, and recreational activities and interesting places to visit in addition to kivrei tzaddikim were also part of the itinerary. For many days and nights, this popular speaker was busy with arranging all these details, and on the night before the trip, he was exhausted.
The flight from Eretz Yisrael to Europe was scheduled for 5:00 a.m. The organizer planned to be awake most of the night until someone picked him up to go to the airport at 2:00 a.m. to make last-minute arrangements. At 1:30 a.m., he was finally ready for the trip, so he took out a pen and paper and began planning his first speech.
As planned and on schedule, at 2:00 a.m., the driver arrived at his door to pick him up and take him to the airport, but he didn’t hear him knock, and he didn’t hear the subsequent phone and bell ringing. He had fallen into a deep sleep, and he didn’t wake up until 2:30. At that point, they had to rush to catch the flight. For him to miss the flight would be terrible because, as we wrote, he was in charge of every detail of this trip.
The driver was very anxious and worried that they would miss the flight, and he rebuked the speaker/organizer for falling asleep at this critical time.
The speaker didn’t respond. He accepted the humiliation in silence. Anyway, there was no time to respond because he had to quickly gather his bags and get into the car.
In his haste and confusion, he also grabbed a bag of garbage and took it with him, thinking it was part of his luggage. His wife had put it next to the door to be tossed into the garbage bin outside.
At the airport, he placed his bags on a conveyor belt, and when the garbage bag passed through the machine, the machine started beeping. The bag contained empty metal cans of tuna, corn, and so on. The TSA staff opened the suspicious bag, and needless to say, the smell was terrible. There were also screws in the garbage bag, which could be used for creating a bomb.
He was immediately called to the side for questioning. This was the last thing he needed at this hectic time. Fortunately, they quickly realized it was a mistake, and they accepted his explanation that he was rushing and tired and didn’t realize what he was taking.
This delay proved to be beneficial for him because they helped him get on the plane in time. Aboard the plane, he decided to put aside the drashah he had halfway prepared, and he told them the story of what happened to him in the few hours before the flight. He explained to the group that this is the lesson of the shofar. The shofar is calling to us to awaken. If we don’t heed its call, we will come along with the garbage.
(This is what happened to him. He didn’t hear the phone and doorbell ring, so he ended up taking along garbage.) But if you wake up in time, you can cleanse yourself from the bad and
R. Elimelech Biderman Torah Wellsprings Parashat Ki Savo 5783
come to Rosh Hashanah with taharah from aveiros.
We are mere days away from Rosh Hashanah. Are we awake yet? Are we working towards this moment of renewal? Truth is, most of us struggle to different degrees with living an unaware life. We think we are awake, judging where we are at via measuring our productivity. Hopefully we feel we are making strides towards our goals and dreams. Yet, even as we journey forward, many of us still find ourselves in a daze, perhaps even sleepwalking through life. And in this daze, perhaps we start grasping for things that end up veering us off the path we have laid out for our journeys.
During these last days before Rosh Hashanah, it isn’t too late to wake up. Most of us dream to be a better version of the person we see before us. While it is important to be compassionate to the person we are, we should also be striving to take the next steps along the path we are forging. Now is the time. Choose one thing we believe we can build on and start now. Make the New Beginning in your life now. By resolving to take this first step, we can be sure that we are carrying our luggage and not the bag of garbage to the next stop in our journeys.
May each of us find much meaning and growth in this High Holiday season, awakening to the person we wish to be.
Looking to gain further, broader insight in becoming your more authentic, spiritually focused self? Let me help you along this path! Contact New Beginnings Spiritual Coaching and Consulting LLC at 732-314-6758 ext. 100 or via email at newbeginningsspiritualcoach@gmail.com
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