This evening, I read about Adam Michael Goldstein (March 30, 1973 – August 28, 2009), an American disc jockey known as DJ AM. Less than a year ago, he was seriously injured when the Learjet in which he he was traveling crashed on takeoff.
Goldstein, born in Pennsylvania to a Jewish family, was found dead on Friday. An interview which he gave to People magazine after the crash reveals his spiritual side.
DJ AM considers himself "blessed" to have survived the September 19 plane crash that left him and Travis Barker with second- and third-degree burns and killed four others... In his first interview since the crash, AM told People magazine that during his recovery, he grew closer to God and that he now believes he was saved "for a reason." "I've prayed every night for the past 10 years. There's a lot more to thank God for now. My philosophy is 'live life to the fullest,' [and] I was saved for a reason," he told the magazine. "Maybe I'm going to help someone else. I don't question it. All I know is, I'm thankful I'm still here." ...He also said that while he's grateful to be alive, he's wrestled with guilt, knowing that four people didn't survive the crash. "My emotions go back and forth," he said. "At the first hospital, I screamed, 'Thank you!' Then I wondered, 'Why did I live?' I can't believe I made it. Any second, it can all be gone."
http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1597103/20081015/dj_am.jhtml
Durng the High Holy Days, the U'Netaneh Tokef prayer is recited. Part of the prayer contains the following words: "On Rosh Hashanah will be inscribed and on Yom Kippur will be sealed how many will pass from the earth and how many will be created; who will live and who will die; who will die at his predestined time and who before his time;"
I will, hopefully utter these words with greater fervor as I recall Goldstein's words, "Any second it can all be gone." I thank G-d for the gift of life and pray that Adam Goldstein will merit a proper Jewish burial.
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