Two Shabbats (Sabbath) ago I woke up in the morning to see more than two feet of smooth, untouched snow all over the sidewalks and street.
Generally speaking my routine is to leave the house with enough time to get to a 7AM service (admittedly, sometimes a few minutes late). My wife suggested that maybe I should stay home, and that no one would be going, due to the terrible weather.
But I had to go!
I’m such a slacker about my synagogue attendance during the weekdays that it’s very hard for me to justify ever missing on Shabbat. Plus: I really enjoy going, especially to this particular service.
But I paid for my decision.
What is normally about a seven minute walk took me nearly a half hour! I was the first person to walk this path, and there were no cars on the road, so no one had made any paths for me. I’m not a very tall person, so every step I took I had to lift my legs very high in the air. I took numerous breaks along the way, almost had a heart attack, and arrived at the synagogue panting and sweating.
What did I find? Was the synagogue empty, like my wife suspected?
Hardly.
The synagogue had plenty of people, and services finished with a full room. The later services were jam-packed as well. As I walked home I saw tons more coming. Before I left we were all chit-chatting about how long our walks were, and everybody was describing how hard they were.
But everyone came!
The funny part was, everyone else in the universe was hiding in the warmth of their homes. We were a bunch of freaks in the streets. No one would have ever thought of venturing out to take a walk in such ridiculous weather.
I spoke to people after Shabbat, and confirmed what I assumed to be the case. I didn’t find one person who found an excuse to not leave their home for prayers. Not one!
This past week I received no mail. We’ve seen no plow and we’ve had no trash pickup. But the Jews of my neighborhood didn’t stop doing what we do, not for a second.
A Jew goes to shul (Yiddish for synagogue). They go if it’s hot or cold, raining or snowing.
Very little will stop us. We have a mission. Snow cannot and will not interfere.