Traffic Jam

“Is my iniquity too great to be borne… I must become a vagrant and a wanderer on earth; whoever meets me will kill me! Hashem said to him: Therefore, whoever slays Kayin before seven generations have passed will be punished. And Hashem placed a mark upon Kayin so that no one who met him might kill him.”

The Ohr HaChaim asks: Why does Kayin get rewarded by having a symbol placed on his forehead so that nobody should harm him? Kayin was a murderer who had killed his brother. Wouldn’t it be appropriate if whoever found him, killed him? Why did he merit special protection from Hashem?

The Ohr HaChaim suggests a novel interpretation. Kayin called out to Hashem: “Ribbono Shel Olam, if You don’t save me, no one in this world will save me. My eyes are turned to You; I am completely dependent on You.” When a person turns to Hashem with such words, then Hashem is gracious to the person and saves him.

Therefore, because Kayin understood that if Hashem would not help him, he had no hope of remaining alive, he turned to Hashem in his hour of need. For that reason, Hashem had mercy on him.

The Dor Haflagah (the generation that built the Tower of Bavel), on the other hand, believed in their own hubris and power. They rebelled against Hashem and didn’t turn to Him, revoking the Divine protection from their lives.

We learn an important ethical lesson. A person who understands and has unwavering emunah that everything is in the control of Hashem, and that only He is our savior and salvation, could save his life.

A Rav in Israel related the following:

Two weeks ago we planned a trip up north, a 35-minute drive. I asked the family to be ready on time because I wanted to stop off at the kever of R’ Meir to daven Mincha. The children were impatient, however, and were reluctant to make the stop. Since it seemed that there would be more than enough time to daven when we reached our destination, I acquiesced.

Ten minutes out we ran into a serious traffic jam, and quite a bit of time passed before we began to move forward again. However, now it was very doubtful that we would reach our destination before shekiah.

My emunah remained steadfast, and despite the fact that the logistics were not in my favor, I kept smiling and reassured the family that everything was good.

I then noticed the gas gauge was nearing empty and I would have to digress to get more gas. There was no way I would be able to daven with a minyan.

When I pulled into the gas station, though, I noticed that a number of people were gathered there, and it was very possible that I would be able to round up a minyan. I reached out to all the people assembled, and within three minutes a minyan was organized, including occupants on a bus that had just pulled in.

The members of the minyan were of all stripes – some dressed casually for the beach, a few without a kippa, but they all joined as one.

When the Mincha prayers were over, a man approached me and said, “I want you to know that it has been 22 years since I last davened with a minyan, but when I saw your determination and enthusiasm to organize the minyan I was inspired to join.”

I later remarked to my wife, “Who knows if the entire traffic jam was not min hashamayim to ensure that this one Yid and his son had the opportunity to daven with a minyan.”

When a person lives with emunah they are sometimes zoche to see the Hand of Providence.