The Safest Place to Be

A friend shared this humorous thought with me about the safest place you can be:

1. Avoid riding in automobiles because they are responsible for 20% of all fatal accidents.

2. Do not stay at home because 17% of all accidents occur in the home.(That's 37% already.)

3. Avoid walking on streets or sidewalks because 14% of all accidents occur to pedestrians.(Now that is 51%)

4. Avoid traveling by air, rail, or water because 16% of all accidents involve those forms of transportation. (That's 67%)

5. 33 % percent of all deaths occur in hospitals. Above all, avoid hospitals.

You will be pleased to learn that only 0.01 % of all deaths occur in a synagogue, and these are usually related to previous physical disorders.Therefore logic tells us that the safest place for you to be at any given point in time is in synagogue services. Torah study is even safer. The number of deaths during Torah study is too small to register.For safety's sake, stay alive, go to shul as often as possible and attend Torah Study. It could save your life.

In truth, there is a more serious side to this. In Proverbs (13:20) King Solomon writes, "He who keeps company with the wise becomes wise, but he who consorts with dull and ignorant people comes to grief." We should be surrounding ourselves with people who help to bring out the best in each of us. We should try to find individuals who push us toward higher ideals. People who find time in their busy days for study and prayer; people who manage to devote a small portion of their days to Gd, are elevating their lives to a higher plane. We can only benefit from having some of their spirit rub off on us.

Studies show, time and again, that people who have faith in their lives, who devote time to spiritual pursuits, are more resilient. The challenges of life do not seem as overwhelming, the setbacks do not push them down as far, and the recovery time is that much shorter. A spiritual life may well be a longer life. It will most certainly be more fulfilling.