I stared at her. "Is it really you?" This apparition was but
a shadow of my good friend Miri. What could have happened to
her? A crash diet which had gone wrong? Some trouble in the
family? Or maybe she had contracted some fateful disease? She
looked as if she was going to fade away before my eyes.
"Hello Miri," I called to this friend whom I had known all my
life.
"Oh hello, Chaya, how are you?" she smiled wanly as she
looked at me with tired eyes.
"Boruch Hashem, I'm fine . . . Well almost," Miri sighed.
"Hashem will help."
A premonition of disaster struck me and I shook slightly.
Miri must have noticed my intense reaction to her first
reply, and added, "It will all turn out just fine. Don't take
it so to heart. The truth is, nothing has really happened
yet, except that . . . Oh I'm so sorry, you must be in a rush
to get home on this erev yom tov."
"Hey, Miri," I almost shouted, "Get to the point, I am not in
the mood for guessing games."
"Very well, if you really want to hear." We sat down, or
rather we sank onto the bench near the bus stop.
"Our court case is coming up in less than a month from
now."
"Court case? Where, how, why?" I couldn't get the questions
out fast enough.
"Some problem with income tax. Someone must have informed
them of the small business we started and told them lies,
that we were putting away vast sums of money. It is a very
serious accusation."
I took a deep breath." Miri, I love you! You gave me the
fright of my life! It's only a court case, and you aren't
even guilty."
"But Chaya," Miri seemed to shrink a little and her eyes
filled with tears. "The judges and solicitors who have been
wrongly informed, are also human beings who often make
mistakes. They might not believe us when we tell them the
truth, and they will tie us into knots. Oh, Chaya, please
tell us what to do. I'm worried sick; I barely sleep and
can't eat," she chuckled sadly for a moment, "It's an ill
wind that blows nobody any good, but at least I have lost
some weight from all this."
"I'm pleased you told me," I heartened her, 'I had visions of
some fatal illness. We will all pray that truth will prevail
and you will win the case." I patted her skinny shoulder,
"You'll see, everything will turn out all right."
We wished each other kesivo vachasimo tovo as we
parted company and went our separate ways.
Law suit, court case, proceedings, what had happened to me?
The words echoed in my mind all the way home. What a
terrifying prospect they conjured up. Oh, Ribono Shel Olom,
how could I have forgotten that I, too, am facing a court
case; we all are. If a flesh and blood judge could instill
such fear into a person, what about our Heavenly Judge? I had
not missed any meals, I slept soundly all night and my case
was coming up. In two days . . . how would I win?
A cool Elul breeze brought me up short and sobered my
thinking. "While the candle burns, one can always repair
things."
Thank you, Miri; quite unconsciously you opened my eyes to
the seriousness of the situation we all find ourselves in at
this time of year. I had been so busy shopping cooking and
looking after the kids, and you helped me, at least in a
small way, to prepare myself mentally for the upcoming Yomim
Noroim.
