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Question:
I had planned to spend the High Holidays in Israel this year, but cancelled the trip because of the security situation.
Now that I’m staying in Australia, some friends have suggested that we take a road trip over the holiday period instead.
The alternative is attending Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur services here. I usually go, but this year I’m nervous about that too. Jewish institutions have become potential targets, and seeing security guards and police outside the synagogue doesn’t reassure me.
It reminds me that there is something to be afraid of.
Part of me thinks I should stop putting myself in situations of danger, take the road trip and forget about the whole thing this year.
But another part of me wonders whether I’m allowing fear to push me away from something important.
Help me think clearly about this.
Am I being sensibly cautious, or am I letting fear make my decisions for me?
Answer:
This isn’t only a question about thinking. It’s about feeling.
Because if this were purely rational, your road trip could be the riskiest activity of all.
Let's look at the statistics.
Since the establishment of the State of Israel, more than seven times as many people have been killed on Israel’s roads as civilians have been killed by terrorism.
And here’s another surprising stat: Australia’s per-capita road-death rate has been higher than Israel’s in every year for the past decade.
And yet an Aussie road trip feels perfectly safe, while an Israel trip feels dangerous.
This is human nature. We ignore the dangers we are used to, while becoming fearful of the dangers that grab our attention. We know road accidents happen. But terrorism feels different. It is deliberate, dramatic and confronting.
Facts may put the danger in perspective, but they don’t make the fear go away.
For that, we don’t need stats, we need security.
The Hebrew word for security is bitachon. It is also the word for trust in G-d. That is not a coincidence. We cannot eliminate every possible danger. Our sense of security comes from knowing that our lives are in G-d’s hands.
Bitachon does not mean being irresponsible. We wear seatbelts, look both ways before crossing the road, and avoid unnecessary danger. Our synagogues have trained security guards, cameras, police support, and sensible procedures.
These safety measures are not a reason to stay away. They are there to make it safer for you to come.
They protect us on the outside. Bitachon gives us security on the inside.
You cancelled one journey because of fear. Don’t allow fear to cancel the journey your soul needs to make.
Not a road trip. A walk to shul.
Good Shabbos,
Rabbi Moss
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