Flying off the Handle
On a trip with my secretary from Paris to Israel, we stood in the security check line at the airport. The line was long and so was the one next to us. Suddenly, a new line opened up. The clerk summoned us to follow him to the newly-opened line with our documents.
We did as we were told, when suddenly, we heard shouts of, “Why are you cutting the line?! Don’t you see people waiting? Wait patiently for your turn!” It was a Jew who showed no signs of Jewishness.
We tried explaining to him that we had stood for a long time at the next line and the clerk told us to come to the head of this line just as it opened. But our explanations fell on deaf ears. The man refused to yield to our logical explanations. We therefore generously offered him our place and resigned ourselves to a longer wait.
I realized that a quarrel begins by each side assuming he is more important than the other side. This leads to arguments and dissention.
After my secretary and I finished the security check, we saw that this man was detained with his luggage for a long time. Our check-in had taken a very short time, and we were therefore able to spend time on other, more enjoyable pastimes than having our luggage and our persons thoroughly screened.
When we later met this man on our flight, he came over to us and asked our forgiveness. He must have understood that he was punished from Heaven for his misbehavior.
Had we responded to the man’s accusations in like manner, we would most probably have caused a chillul Hashem. The man certainly would never have regretted his wrongdoings. It was our attitude of tolerance toward him which gave him pause to reflect on his deeds, reaching the conclusion that he had erred, and impelling him to ask our forgiveness.
