Yesterday, I went to a Tehilim shiur in a community building which is currently being used for a girls' day camp. Midway through the lecture, we were disturbed by massive thumping on the ceiling as the girls were busy dancing on the floor above us. A woman got up from her seat, ready to go upstairs to tell the girls to be quiet when the lecturer stopped her and said, "Don't bother. You won't accomplish anything." To which an old woman replied, "If you don't make an effort, you certainly won't accomplish anything." (Loses something in the translation- it was better said in Yiddish.
This morning, I thought about that incident when I read a New York Post article aptly entitled, "Tortoise and the Air."
Apparently, eighty turtles on the tarmac caused a delay of departing flights including an American Airlines jet and the runway was shut down as workers cleared the area.
To me, the lessons learned was that by banding together, the weak can topple the mighty. The incident also taught me the value of making an effort, without which, you won't accomplish anything. What might be a foregone conclusion might yield surprisingly unexpected results. Who would have thought that a turtle would have the power to bring a mighty jet to a standstill?
A person has to make an effort, a hishtadlut, and, hopefully, with the help of the Almighty, he will succeed in his endeavors.
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