The Tire of Perspective

Imagine yourself driving down the highway. Suddenly a tractor trailer starts veering into your lane. So you do the natural thing and begin to move over to the next lane, but lo and behold there is a car right there. What do you do? You stop imagining! Seriously, this happened to me last night. I instinctively reacted by slowing down thinking that the truck and car will pass me and I’ll be fine. Just when I thought I was safe, the truck that just passed me kicked up a tire sitting in the road and I watched as it headed straight for my windshield.

(It’s amazing the amount of thoughts that cross ones mind in just a millisecond.) That’s it I thought, the windshield is going to be shattered, I’ll be severely wounded at best, this is not going to end well! At the last second the tire turned and sliced the side of my car knocking my mirror right off. A modern day miracle!
But the real miracles occurred just a second after. The thoughts that crossed my mind were the miracles. On a typical Tuesday afternoon, I would have reacted with a question. Why me? Why now? What do I need this for?…. Instead, my thought was Thank G-d I’m Alive! Thank G-d it was only a mirror! And thank G-d this is the extent of today’s tragedy. For I was on the way to the airport to pick up a rabbi who was delayed in Atlanta, on return trip to Israel for his 10 year old grandson’s funeral who tragically died in a bicycle/car accident yesterday.

It’s all a matter of perspective. Sometimes we can appreciate the challenges we face and sometimes we can’t. In all circumstances though we can know that there is a G-d above who sets the wheels in motion for everything that occurs. But the lesson and the story doesn’t end yet.

When I got to the airport the rabbi was nowhere to be found. He had already checked into a hotel and the airline would not give me the name of the hotel. So my trip to the airport was in vain! Or was it? Perhaps my trip to the airport needed to happen just to learn the value of perspective. Just perhaps?

At the beginning of this weeks Torah portion Jacob is traveling when the Torah says, “and he chanced upon The place, and he slept there for the sun had come”. Our sages ask the obvious question, “doesn’t the sun set each day?” Rather, the sun set for him, for something was to occur in that place. Indeed that is the spot that the Temple was destined to be built. That was the spot where Jacob had his famous dream of the angels and the ladder.

What was Jacob thinking when the sun set. Perhaps he was frustrated that his trip was disturbed. After all he was on a mission of “Honor Thy Father and Mother” as his mother had instructed him to take this journey! But, Jacob who was our forbearer set the tone in this experience by laying down and sleeping with a comfort and knowledge that this was G-d’s will and a there is a master plan to everything.

This article was originally written in 2006.

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