I Owe My Life…
It’s possible I owe my life to Donald Trump… Jr. You see, one Friday, at the end of a very long week of work and travel, I was running an errand. I was run-down and tired, and very much looking forward to Shabbos, when I would hopefully get some rest. As I sat at a stoplight, I dozed off. It was for perhaps a moment, because suddenly my phone gave a loud, “DIIIING” as I received a text message.
The message’s sender identified himself as, “Don Jr.,” but I recognized the content as being a fundraising message for a political party. I had received others like it from various people, and will likely receive more in the future. I assume a certain group uses their names with permission in order to garner support. Now, before you go down a political rabbit hole, let me stop you and say this was all besides the point. Let’s get back to the real focus.
To The Ping!
I was so tired, I’d fallen asleep behind the wheel, although with my foot on the brake. That is a very dangerous situation. That ding from phone was a wake-up call in more ways than one. Of course, it literally woke me from my slumber, though I don’t think I was in that deep of a sleep. It was jarring and alarming, though, because, in that instant, I realized what a precarious spot I was in. Had I taken my foot off the brake, bad things could have happened to me or someone else.
The second part of the wake-up call was the awareness that I was so tired, this was able to happen. It made me consider the situation so I could avoid it happening again. As I finished driving to my errand, I was keenly aware of my sleepiness and kept it in check. I didn’t let my guard down, and as I drove home, I decided that when I got there, I would take a much-needed nap and not put myself or anyone else in danger.
As I drove home, I kept my mind occupied, much of the time in considering the points I’d convey in this column, and a bit of the time speaking on the phone (hands-free of course) to someone else who didn’t want to hang up until I was safely home. Once I realized how I almost got hurt, I was keenly cognizant and watched myself to avoid a reoccurrence.
Was It Random, Or Not?
It got me to thinking. I was in a precarious situation, and an irrelevant text message saved me. But was it really irrelevant? Or was Hashem (God) using this seemingly extraneous means to get my attention? I think we all know the answer. Clearly, it wasn’t Donald Trump Jr. who helped me, or even the political workers who used his name.
It was Hashem, doing what He does best, and watching over me in every possible way. He set into motion all the details that would lead to me getting that text at that moment in that spot. To recount them all would be mind-boggling and impossible. And I think He does this all the time. When we need to pay attention, Hashem will send us wake-up calls, often because they are close calls.
All The Close Calls
I know many people who will text and drive, or look at their phones behind the wheel. You may notice a car driving slowly, or erratically, or beginning to drift out of their lane, and then suddenly jolt back straight. That’s when they were distracted, and thankfully, before it got too out of hand, they realized where they were and what they were doing. They got a wake-up call from G-d.
These calls are not only to reflect the danger we were in at that moment, but to show us the dangers of the behavior we were engaged in which got us to that point. And we see them often enough. I recall a friend who told me of a plan he’d had to go to a place a nice Jewish boy shouldn’t go. He managed to resist the temptation in the end and then, within hours, he got a wake-up call. A reporter with hidden cameras visited the establishment and everyone who was there was recorded. Had he been there, he said, his life would have been ruined. In that moment, he was eternally grateful to Hashem, and redirected himself to avoid that situation in the future.
[And sometimes, we see someone else in a bad situation, and realize how close we’d come to doing the same things that got them there. That should also be a wake-up call.]
Seeing Hashem’s Hand
Like my friend’s experience, mine made me appreciate that often, the things we think are unimportant, perhaps even bothersome, could quite likely be a Divine gift from a loving Father, trying to show us how things look from His vantage point. If we get the message and protect ourselves, it could very well save our lives. But if we don’t pay attention, well, let’s just say it can be quite true that, “If you snooze, you lose”.
By Rabbi Jonathan Gewirtz
2025 – All Rights Reserved
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