an article on Spirituality
May 1, 2020
In Lock Down -Ramat Bet Shemesh
In light of the coronavirus covid-19 pandemic
We always have options because right and wrong are not always clear. Here is a rule to use when the correct choice to make is blurred. When controversy is iffy, Honesty is absolute.
During this time of lockdown Leah and I have been staying with our children in our home in Ramat Bet Shemesh but some days ago, we drove up to our apartment in Tzfat where we planned to stay for the next two days. The following day, on Yom Hatzmaut, we were going to drive back to Ramat Bet Shemesh to be at our grandson’s 3rd birthday party. On the day we were driving back, at 4:15 PM, Leah woke me up from a nap telling me what she had just heard. The highway into Tzfat was going to be shut down promptly at 5:00 pm. All entrances would be closed until the next evening. If we were to drive back to Ramat Bet Shemesh we had less than a half hour to pack up and be on our way.
At around 4:45 PM and with only a few minutes to spare we were on our way. At 4:50 we were safely out of Tzfat and driving towards highway 90. We passed a police barricade that was active, set up to stop traffic from entering Tzfat. At 5:05 PM Leah and I heard, that driving anywhere in Israel was suspended and that began at 5:00 PM. At best, we were two hours away from Ramat Bet Shemesh and we would have to drive illegally. The birthday party was so important to us and driving back to Tzfat was probably impossible because the entrance to the city was closed. We went over our options but none would work out so we kept moving forward toward Ramat Bet Shemesh.
When we arrived at the entrance to highway 6, the freeway that crosses Israel, there were three red X’s above us. One over each of the three entry lanes. The freeway was closed, we were around 1 ½ hours away from Ramat Bet Shemesh and there were no alternate roads to take. We would have to drive on Highway 6, a closed freeway, for around an hour. I stopped our car to rethink our options. At that moment, a car passed us by, entered the freeway, and sped up. It was clearly the wrong thing to do but he had no other options. I entered the highway as well and I sped up. There were no other cars on the road. From time to time a car passed us, driving way over the speed limit. We noticed a car on the other side of the freeway, in the opposite direction, that was sandwiched in between two police cars. We continued to drive over the speed limit and eventually we caught up with some trucks that had likely entered the highway before it was closed. We saw a police car that was ahead of us exiting the highway.
Leah and I discussed the matter as we drove. I thought we were trapped. Sooner or later we would be stopped by the police and we would need to say something. Either we would get an expensive ticket or be arrested. I said, no matter what we face we must tell the truth. If I am asked where we entered, I will say we entered at the beginning of the freeway even if that will incriminate me. It is the truth. That was our plan. Another police car passed us by. An hour later we exited highway 6 onto Highway 1 never having been stopped. There were only a few cars on that freeway. There we were close to home. We entered Highway 38 and drove up to Highway 38500 without incident. We were eight minutes from home. Suddenly we were in front of a barrier. The cars in front of me were pulled over by the police. They did not stop my car. I had just enough room to squeeze by and keep going. Finally, we made a right turn onto the road that entered Ramat Bet Shemesh. We were three minutes away from home, but a long truck had been placed sideways across the road and it acted as a barrier stopping all traffic. It seemed there were no options, we were going to be stopped. Then I noticed a small space on the right, it was on the sidewalk. A van going the opposite way inched his way through that tight spot, bit by bit until he made his way through it. I was next. I drove up onto the sidewalk and inched my way through the barrier, driving in the opposite direction, driving in front of a number of policemen. They stopped people who wanted to leave Ramat Bet Shemesh but they did not stop me. We were home just before 7:00 PM, never having been stopped. Did the police find a leniency regarding my car? Were there leniencies for cars driving on the road between 5:00 PM and 7:00 PM? I do not think so.
We stand before G-d and hold by the laws of the Torah. But controversy is iffy and where there is controversy, G-d is the true judge. For instance, breaking the laws of Shabbos can bring on a death sentence, but one can break any of these laws to save a Jewish life. There is a prohibition against lying but under certain circumstances one is permitted to lie. Yet our life situations, our tests, our supernal trials, are set up by G-d. At times you will face controversies and tests, and G-d wants to see how you handle them. One might lie in order to get himself out of trouble. He can enter a controversy saying anything, trying to debate his way out, or he can tell the truth and face the consequences. I have been in a spot like this before. I found the best way out of them is to say the truth. I drove more than two hours after driving had been halted. It was not right to do that and I could have been caught easily but I found no other options. G-d knew that if I were to be stopped and questioned, I would tell the truth. That means, if I was under a test that was to find out if I would tell the truth in a difficult situation or try figuring something out in order to avoid being arrested, I would tell the truth. My decision to tell the truth was absolute. In this case it seems, there was no need for Leah and I to be stopped. If we were being tested to see if we would tell the truth, G-d saw that we were committed to that. I cannot say I will do that always. One never knows. We enjoyed our grandson’s wonderful birthday party on Yom Hazmaut.