Purim and Robert Frost

I have lived in Israel now for almost 7 months. This past weekend was Purim which is celebrated by wearing costumes and partaking in mammash debauchery. 

Celebrating the holidays and experiencing day to day life in Israel has in many ways renewed my sense of spirituality. I'd like to share a story in order to illustrate what I mean.

When I was 10, I lost my music folder right before I had a very important chorus rehearsal. I remember hearing the door bell ring notifying me that my carpool had arrived and I began to panic.  I started throwing everything out of my closet, messing up all my drawers, and scattering papers off my sister and my desk (which would definitely get me into trouble with her later, but in the current frame of mind I wasn't thinking about these consequences). I needed that music folder. Today, we were rehearing our performance music for an upcoming tour to New York where we would be singing at Carnegie Hall. Our artistic director was going to check to see if we had all our music with us today and since the intensity was high with only a few weeks until the departure date, I was scared to show up without my music. It didn't help too that at the time, I was slightly terrified of my artistic director and felt the deep urge to continually impress her with my diligence and practice. The doorbell rang again, and I was losing myself. I was going to have to answer the door but how could I?  I ran outside into the backyard to escape the pressure of searching and I looked up into the clouds and asked God to help me. “Hello God” I said naively as if there was actually some old man with a beard up in the clouds looking down at me. “I never talk to you but today I really need your help. If you can show me, direct me, lead me somehow to my music folder, I will be eternally grateful”. I closed my eyes and listened for a moment. I could hear the wind ruffling the leaves on trees but no one responded. Turning back to the house, I ran straight to our front door and opened it to see the mother of my friend waiting patiently on the opposite side smiling at me warmly. She waved her hand in a gesture that we ought to get going. "Ok" and I turned to the closet to grab my coat. My thoughts were racing as I lifted my mom, sister, and brother’s jackets and finally found my grey fleece. I took it off the shelf and as I brought it near me, there…glimmering like ruby buried deep under the earth…was my red music folder. I couldn’t believe it. I stared at it wide eyed for a moment and then grabbed it and put it under my arm. Right before running out to the car, I paused for a second feeling the whole world come to stand still and facing the closet I whispered a little thank you.

As I reflect on my decision to come to Israel and my decisions about what I will do next I can't help but think of a famous poem my Robert Frost. I have come to points in my life when I've had to make decisions about what path to take. Should I take the path less traveled or take the road ahead. My Oma once told me to always be thankful and always come back to my mediation. Trust the universe that things will happen the way they were meant to and to have a little faith. My sense of spirituality has grown and become a bigger part of who I am as a person and I couldn't be more thankful.

And just because...

The Road Not Taken

Two roads diverded in a yellow wood,
Amd sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent to the undergrowth

Then took the other, as just as fair
And having perhaps the better claim
Because it was grassy and wanted wear,
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black
Oh, I kepy the first for another day!
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I,
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference

Robert Frost