A Picture for Posterity
Rabbi David Elbaz, shlita, is the principal of the Jewish school in Paris. He related that once, while straightening up his office, he decided to throw out old binders which were dusty with disuse.
Suddenly, a photograph slipped out. It was a picture of a student who had learned in his institution years ago. Rabbi Elbaz picked up the picture and placed it on his desk. Whenever he came across it, he would give it a quick glance, remembering his dear disciple.
- The boy, z”l
After two days, his phone rang shrilly. The voice on the other end asked if Rabbi Elbaz remembered this student, whose photograph sat before his eyes. Rabbi Elbaz was stunned at the “coincidence.” He replied that for the past two days, this student’s picture had sat on his desk. The voice on the other end had some bad tidings. A short time before, this boy had been killed in a serious car accident, rachmana litzlan.
Rabbi Elbaz was shaken by the news. He was filled with dread and came to me to ask if there was some sort of Heavenly message for him in the fact that he had found the photograph two days before the boy died.
I calmed him down, assuring him he had nothing to be afraid of. His finding the picture was only a sign that his pupil’s passing was imminent. Since the sign was sent specifically to the school office, I instructed Rabbi Elbaz to arrange an assembly to inspire the members of the school. He should share his story of the picture with everyone gathered. This would give them pause for thought about the end of all men. They would certainly be aroused to have thoughts of teshuvah, which would redound to the credit of this young man, whose pure soul had been snuffed out.
This incident should teach us all a life lesson. We are all living on a temporary visa, here today and gone tomorrow. Therefore, it would be wise to prepare food for the long journey ahead. This is Torah and mitzvot, the only fare which sustains a person in the World to Come.
