A Wing and a Prayer

(Published in The Outreach, August 2004)
The Outreach is the newsletter of Valley Outreach Synagogue, Reseda, California
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For a number of years, it was my custom to begin every airline flight with the Shma and a personal plea to God. Naturally, I asked God to bless me with a safe and pleasant outward journey and a safe return to my beloved family and to my life. On one particular flight my script changed. I don’t know what brought on the new wording but along with the Shma which I did not abandon, upon take-off, I said, "Thank You, God." I remember then exhaling and smiling. My prayer continued, "Thank You for such an incredible ride. Should anything happen to me, all I ask is that you look after my family." Those, or words to that effect have been my take-off prayer ever since then.

I don’t know what happened that changed my prayer from a plea to a thank you. I think it coincided with another change in my life at a moment of stress. Standing below the stage of the Royal Albert Hall with more than six thousand people waiting to hear me sing, I had a similar epiphany. As the orchestra played the overture my nerves rattled. My plea to God to help me through the night was tempered by the beauty of the music that I was hearing through the floor of the hall. Instead of begging, I thanked God for the rare opportunity to sing such glorious music; to share my gifts with an audience.

I am challenged to express to you how full my life is and how grateful I am for all of it. I do not board flights or days with a fatalistic outlook, but rather with inexpressible contentment. I am an irrepressible optimist. I only hope that my children can learn the same value without any of the hardships that I have had to experience.

The current month of Av is a sad and mournful one for our people. We turn our attention to the plights of Jews who made this journey before us. We fast in tribute to the Holy Temples which were destroyed in Av. We lament that the Nazis chose the very same date to annihilate our recent ancestors. Yet there before us is Elul! A new month! Throw off the sack cloth and run towards the New Year!