A couple in Lyon experienced a devastating car accident. The medics who arrived on the scene and saw their demolished car were sure that there were no survivors. But by some miracle, the couple emerged alive.
When I came to visit them in the hospital, the husband emotionally told me, “Honored Rav, before the accident, I was a non-believer. But during the accident, I clearly felt Hashem’s hand saving myself and my wife from certain death. Now I am an avid believer!”
I was sure the man would make a complete turnabout in his life. He would certainly begin observing Shabbat, kashrut, and other mitzvot. But only two weeks later, I was most disappointed to find him driving on Shabbat.
At first, I could not absorb what I was seeing. This man was pulled out of the ruins by Hashem Himself and admitted to it. How could he blatantly ridicule the mitzvot?
But on second thought, I realized that there was a lesson for me in this incident. When a person is aroused to do teshuvah, he should not satisfy himself with thoughts of teshuvah and even statements of such. Rather, he should do a mitzvah, such as beginning to observe Shabbat, going to the yeshivah to learn Torah, or strengthening himself in some other area.
Only a concrete act will allow a person to maintain the awakening he experienced. Only an immediate, tangible resolution can transform the awareness of the moment into eternal arousal, which will constantly advance him in his Avodat Hashem.
