While prudence and caution are in order for protection from any potential damage at the hands of Hurricane Sandy, let us not forget that everything carries deeper messages.
Winds in general and especially strong winds are powerful reminders of forces beyond our control. And like any formidable force, they can either wreak havoc or brings us great opportunities.
Especially considering a hard-to -ignore coincidence of the hurricane striking the most heavily populated part of the country, including Washington DC, just a week before the Presidential election – winds from above disturbing the final whirlwind campaign efforts of both candidates.
All the more compounded by the fact that the magnitude of this storm is being considered a once-in-a-lifetime event, considering that it is a rare combination of several factors: 1) the most extensive storm system in years, (2) making a beeline for the most densely populated part of the eastern seaboard, (3) due to make landfall at exactly high tide, (4) on a full moon when tides are at their maximum (5) and when a cold weather system is poised to converge with it.
The gale winds upon our waters — born last week in the warm southern seas right around Aruba, soon to whimper away into oblivion somewhere in the northern hemisphere — which are now beginning to unleash their fury over the Eastern Seaboard, bring to mind several feelings:
What is the first documented episode of a powerful wind, and its impact on water? The second verse in the Bible: “And the divine wind hovered over the face of the water.”
The Midrash (Jewish commentary) says that “the divine wind (“ruach” in Hebrew, which also translates as spirit) refers to “the spirit of Moshiach (Messiah.)”
As the winds howl over the waters, and the seas surge, perhaps they are bringing us refreshing winds of change…
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The second time the word wind is used in the Bible is equally fascinating: After Adam and Eve had transgressed and eaten from the Tree of Knowledge, and they realized what they had done, the verse tells us: “They heard G-d’s voice moving about in the garden with the wind of the day. The man and his wife hid themselves from G-d among the trees of the garden. G-d called to the man, and He said, ‘Where are you ?'”
This is eerily reminiscent of the story of Jonah, where we read: “The Lord cast a mighty wind into the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea, and the ship threatened to be broken up. And the sailors were frightened, and each one cried out to his god… and Jonah went down to the ship’s hold, lay down, and fell fast asleep.
“And the captain approached him and said to him, ‘Why do you sleep? Get up, call out to your God, perhaps God will think about us, and we will not perish’“
The storm subsided only after Jonah declared that “I am a Hebrew, and I fear the G-d of heaven, Who made the sea and the dry land” and acknowledged that the tempest had come because he was fleeing his divine calling.
Jonah’s immortal words ring true today as they did then – and as they did for Adam and Eve who were trying to hide from their divine calling as well: “For I know that, because of me, this mighty tempest is upon you.”
Just to be sure, we don’t blame natural disasters on anyone; yet we are sensitive to events around us – especially those disrupting millions of lives — and make sure to derive their personal lessons in our own lives.
As Hurricane Sandy pummels its way across the Atlantic towards land – on no less than a full moon – what messages do its winds carry for us?
Are they howling out to us with the eternal question asked to Adam and to every human being: “Where are you?”
Or are they conveying Jonah’s enduring words: “For I know that, because of me, this mighty tempest is upon you.”
Are they waking us up, crying out to us, as the captain did to Jonah: Why do you sleep?
Are they a harbinger of the wind and spirit of a global revolution in spiritual consciousness (aka Moshiach)?
Or perhaps they may just be humbly reminding us – smack at the end of a billion dollar Presidential campaign – who is really in charge.