You know it's a miracle when even the press refers to it as one. The whole nation beamed with pride at the heroic efforts of the pilot and crew of US Airways flight 1549 that averted disaster, when the pilot directed the damaged jet into the Hudson. The quick thinking, the deft maneuvering, the evacuation – even women and children first; who wasn't proud that some element of chivalry has survived! – the immediacy of the first responders including numerous private water vessels that took the passengers to safety.
Yet they were just following procedure, doing what they were trained to do. It was a textbook water landing and evacuation.
Judaism has its basic training as well, what may seem like tedious repetition of never-to-be-used drills that, when applied, are a thing of beauty.
Basic training may seems worthless until the crisis hits, and then it is pricelessWhen children spend day after day in the classroom studying about G‑d's plan vs. the temptations of evil, it may seem bizarre and foreign to them; after all they spend the bulk of their day cloistered in school and under the watchful eye of teachers and principals. The worst they consider is skipping the line to lunch. Someday, however, the lessons they learn in school will be called upon in their life, and that training will be applied seamlessly thus averting disaster. It will be the difference between being a mentsch or a Madoff.
Each morning when we pray, we load up on spirituality, while repeating the same words over and over. Sometimes it seems monotonous and even pointless. Then, in a manner almost unnoticed, later in the day we hold our tongue when we want to lash out, we help someone whom everyone else ignored. That's where our basic training manifests in improving the world, that's when we are heroes.
So next time you're staring at your prayer book, eyes glossing over the same pages, wondering what the point of doing this "again" is, remember that basic training may seems worthless until the crisis hits, and then it is priceless.
When the flight attendant reviews the safety features, including teaching how to buckle your seat belt – I might have though that if you couldn't do that one by yourself you probably couldn't figure out how to purchase an airline ticket, but who am I to judge – pay a little closer attention. You never know when a routine repeated lesson will save your life.
