Operation Inspiration
For over a hundred years, the story of the Titanic, the “unsinkable” ship that struck an iceberg and sank on April 15, 1912, killing more than 1500 of the 2200+ passengers and crew on board has captivated the imagination of the world. It is the greatest loss of life on a cruise ship in peacetime, and has gotten a certain amount of mystery and romance associated with it.
People’s fascination with Titanic has not waned despite the passage of time, and its name is still known to most people even though it was gone decades before they were born. Indeed, it was a tragedy of great magnitude and made world headlines. Whenever something dominates the headlines, we must recognize that Hashem is sending Mankind a message, especially the Jewish People.
One of my favorite stories about the Titanic is about the fellow who was davening shortly after the ship went down and he questioned the massive loss of life. “Ribono Shel Olam,” the man prayed. “You are the Master of the world and all that is in it. You control the seas and the storms. How could You let this happen? How could you let so many people die?”
Hashem responded, “Do you know what I had to do to get all those people on ONE boat?!”
The message of Hashem’s Hashgacha Pratis, individualizing His oversight of each of our lives even when so many are affected by the same situation is a brilliant one in my opinion. It grounds us and reminds us that nothing is out of Hashem’s control. Calling the boat unsinkable, underestimates the Master of the World Who can, and does, arrange whatever He wants to happen.
Recently, the world took note of another vessel, this one called the Titan. This was a submersible that was intended to go down to visit the wreck of the Titanic, over two miles beneath the surface of the sea. It had made over 20 other trips, but this one was ill-fated. On board were wealthy explorers on a thrill ride, but shortly after their trip began, the sub lost contact with the staff above water. A massive rescue operation was mounted and for days the world was discussing how much air they had left. Not coincidentally, this was the week of Parshas Korach, and the headline, “Billionaire goes down and doesn’t come back,” is appropriate for both the Titan and the Parsha. (Thanks to R’ S.B. Berger Shlit”a for that.)
As much as the world is enraptured with the Titanic, to me, this submersible’s story is possibly a bigger tragedy than the Titanic’s sinking back in 1912. While initially everyone though they were running out of oxygen, dirty and without food or water, it was later determined that the sub likely suffered a catastrophic implosion at the time they lost contact with the surface. The five men aboard the sub were killed instantly, as the implosion took roughly 40 milliseconds. They never knew what hit them. And that’s why I say this is worse.
You see, the people on the Titanic knew they were going to perish, or at least that there was a good chance of it. It took the ship several hours to go under, and those in the water may have frozen to death in minutes. But they had those minutes – and that’s critical.
Though many people would look at instant death as a blessing, we who believe in an all-powerful Creator, with Whom we will spend eternity, need time to prepare ourselves for that. The Mishna tells us to repent one day before our deaths. Since we never know the day of our death, we must reflect and repent daily. These five men never had a moment to think about the fact that they were about to meet their Maker, and that is tragic.
In a moment, a person can regret, repent, and return to Hashem. When a person is being led to the gallows, he can change all that he did in life – in his heart and mind, at least – and reconnect to Hashem. Though Isidore Strauss and the other Jews onboard Titanic may have done so, his great-grandson-in-law on the Titan was not so lucky.
The truth is that none of us know what the next moment will bring, so we would be wise to think and reflect on that each moment of our lives, or at least multiple times per day. We should ask ourselves if we’re ready to meet our Maker; if we’re living the way we should and focusing on the right things.
I heard from R’ Moshe Meir Weiss Shlit”a that the reason someone who engaged a woman but did not marry her, or built a home and didn’t live in it, did not go to war, was because were he to be critically wounded and his final thoughts on earth were, “I never got the girl; I never got to live in the house” and not, “I’m about to meet HaKadosh Baruch Hu,” that would be a tragedy.
This is one small message we can take from this story that captured the world’s attention: take advantage of every moment to connect with Hashem, for the opportunity may not come around again.
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