The REAL Super-Tanker

B”H

The REAL Super-Tanker

By Rabbi Yisroel Goldberg

Director of Chabad of Rechavia

A couple of weeks ago, I had my first opportunity to participate in the national Israeli Shluchim conference, since I became a Shliach (Chabad emissary)in Jerusalem a half a year ago. As in the past few years, the conference was held at the Nir Etzyion hotel in the northern part of Israel. It was an opportunity for the Rabbis to show solidarity to the residents of the north.

However, this year, the location took on a new significance.

You are most probably aware of the horrific fire blaze which swept through hundreds of forests, and thousands of acres of land, in the beginning of December, 2010.

During the conference, it was most appropriate to visit the burnt areas, which were literally 10 minutes from our hotel. Our tour guide was a representative of the Jewish National Fund, Keren Kayemet L’Israel.

The first thing that we did was, we cut the lower branches of the remaining trees, thereby enabling the crew to shred them, spread them on the ground, and allow new life to breed into the trees. Also, in the event of another fire erupting in the area (G-d forbid), it will more difficult for the fire spread, because of the absence of the lower branches.

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Then we went on to view the indescribable destruction that the fire had caused. We drove through acres of land which was black, and trees were yellow, dried and dead, from the fire. It was heart wrenching.

We finally got to the actual scene where the unforgettable bus of prison-guard heroes, of whom 44 were burnt to death, of blessed memory. There was only one thing that they had in-mind: To save as many people as possible.

One of the Rabbis said the Kaddish for the perrished, while we all sang the famous song of “Ani Ma’amin” (i.e. “I Believe”), which was traditionally was composed on the way to the concentration camps. This song declares that whatever happens in the world, our unwavering pure faith in the Al-mighty G-d.

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At the end, the only vessel which was able to extinguish the fire was the “Super-Tanker”, flown in from the US, the world’s largest fire-fighting aircraft. The regular-looking airplane can carry around 94,000 liters of water and fire retardant material.

On a deeper level, we can see the Super-tanker to be metaphorical. A tank, most commonly used in war, is a powerful vessel. The Lubavitcher Rebbe explained, that if a tank can be used in a material war, potentially causing lots of damage, how-much more so, can we use the phenomenon in a positive way.

Fire is usually compared to the flame of the Jewish soul. But sometimes fire represents destruction, as it practically did in the Carmel, this past December. Excitement in non-holy matters can bring to a lack in involvement in goodness and kindness. Configurative, the fire says: Let us get inspired by the latest non-sense in the secular world.

Here’s where the Super-Tanker comes in and says: I will not allow fire, warmth and inspiration to be misused.

You can be a Super-Tanker. You ARE a Super-Tanker. You have tremendous potential to infuse your surroundings with true warmth. You can extinguish all unnecessary excitement, and redirect the inspiration to help even one more Jew do even one single Mitzvah, and thereby bring about the ultimate, and long-awaited, redemption!