I was out running an errand for my wife. (She left her pocketbook at the Corner Bakery. Sigh.)
The restaurant is a ten minute drive. It turned into 45 minute round trip.
As I drove there, I saw a massive accident had stopped traffic on the other side of the highway. TV cameras and police cars were there.
And all the cars slowed down to see what was going on. I was experiencing what the radio newscasters call a "gapers delay"
It was frustrating. While we feel horrible for accident victims, do we not realize that turning our heads to look slows down traffic.
Our morbid curiosity could even cause another accident.
But perhaps a gapers delay is not simply about morbid curiosity. Perhaps it reflects the human instinct for empathy.
We turn our heads because we care about what happened to the other drivers. And we recognize it could have been us.
Rabbi Zalman Shalomi proposed saying a prayer for the victim every time we are delayed by an ambulance or an accident.
It's a powerful practice. Give it a try. You might choose to say one of the 50 short prayers included in Shalom for the Heart.
Rabbi Evan Moffic
evan@rabbi.me
Evan Moffic, Congregation Solel
1301 Clavey Road
Highland Park, Illinois 60035, United States
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