"Endless opportunities, courtesy of our Divine Travel
Agent..."
I spent the summer abroad for two months. As I prepared to
leave, I felt a bit guilty as I saw myself taking off from
Israel, to begin with, and from my spiritual work as well as
my professional work -- to have a holiday. While the only
`work' I did being on vacation was confined to writing a
couple of articles and collecting ideas for others, my
spiritual `vacation' turned out to be a spirtual workout I
hadn't expected. Contrary to popular opinion, in this case
mine, a vacation can be an opportunity for exercising
otherwise flabby spiritual muscles.
Whether encountering old friends or new acquaintances, one
is presented with new experiences and new situations which
provide fresh ground for spirituality to take root. Seeing
family and friends usually presents an opportunity to deal
with unfinished business and approach old relationship habits
in new ways. We get the chance to see ourselves through the
prism of time which usually reveals our true colors. We can
gauge our spritual growth in ways we can't do on a daily
basis.
Each locality also offers its own opportunities for spiritual
growth or a new mitzva. Or just being a good-will
ambassador for our people. While taking a train from Paris to
Strasburg, I struck up a conversation with a non- Jewish girl
on a work-holiday in London. She asked me how it was living
in Israel and I explained that one of the reasons I live
there is because I'm a religious Jew. She then expressed her
fascination with Judaism and in answer to her questions and
enthusiasm and with the help of my son, I gave her a quickie
course in the basics of our complex and fascinating
tradition. I'll never see that girl again, I'm pretty sure,
but who knows what consequences that conversation might have?
The information I provided her with can have some benefits
down the road unforeseen except by the One Who guided me to
that train in the first place.
I spent Shabbos with a childhood friend in London. It was the
first Shabbos her two young daughters ever experienced. They
seemed perplexed but guardedly interested in it. My
girlfriend used the same candlesticks that her mother had
used when she was a child and the kitchen glowed with the
light of many candles and young and eager smiling faces. And
I haven't even mentioned the merit this woman got for the
great lengths she went to ensure I had kosher food and
utensils. I would hire her as a mashgiach, after the
proper coaching, of course, for her sheer devotion to
halachic detail. Who knows what lies in the future? A taste
of Shabbos packs a powerful punch...
I went to buy some shoes in London. The woman who was
managing the shop just `happened' to have a granddaughter who
had recently returned from a trip to Israel and was longing
to go back. We discussed the merits of such a decision and I
slipped into the role of good-will ambassador again, this
time, with an Aliya representative role thrown in for good
measure. But I wouldn't have expected to encounter this
opportunity in a London shoe store. Being receptive and open,
simply because I was out of my usual context, proved an
important ingredient.
I could go on, but the endless opportunities of Kiddush
Hashem that present themselves, courtesy of our Divine Travel
Agent, are obvious. Vacations are a great time to stretch our
physical and intellectual muscles and "spread our wings and
take flight." It is no less an opportune time to spread our
spiritual wings and get some work done. [To `pay' for our
ticket...]
