I had originally planned to write about the recent primaries in Florida, including how two Jewish members of Congress, Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Jared Moskowitz, who are strong supporters of Israel, won their primaries against progressive opposition.
I was also going to discuss the ramifications of the blatant antisemite Dan Bilzerian, who I mentioned in last week’s column, coming in second out of five candidates in the Republican Party primary and receiving more votes than any of the four candidates in the Democratic Party primary for the same congressional district. Also, I usually write about topics relating to Rosh HaShanah the week before the holiday. However, I saw something that so unnerved me that I am going to ditch my political comments and wait until the week before Rosh HaShanah.
Although I needed to go to Staten Island on Sunday, I saw there was a reenactment in Fort Lee, which was totally out of the way. My plan was to first ride my bike to Fort Lee to see the reenactment and then ride to downtown Manhattan and take the Staten Island Ferry to Staten Island. I ended up not staying for the reenactment since it did not seem like there were many reenactors present. It is not a good sign when the reenactors show up an hour late like I did. I had a good excuse since I got a late start due to the rain and had to ride for two hours to get there. I later found out that there was another reenactment for the Battle of Brooklyn, which I would have gone to instead of Fort Lee since it was on the way to Staten Island and close to August 27-29, the days of the Battle of Brooklyn, as opposed to a random day, as was the Fort Lee reenactment.
While riding to the George Washington Bridge, I saw something that I had never seen before in all the years that I have ridden a bike. It was near the bike path next to the Hudson River, approximately at 110th Street. I saw a small area taped off with yellow tape and a few police cars. I then noticed a body bag that contained a body. I also saw it on the way back. By then, there was only one officer watching the body and an ambulance, which may have been from the city coroner. Thus, it appeared that the person died of natural causes. Seeing an occupied body bag was unnerving enough, but then I thought of the fact that I saw it three weeks before Rosh HaShanah. Also, I would not have seen it if not for my unnecessary trek to Fort Lee Historical Park. There is no such thing as coincidences.
There is a message that may be given, and it is not a pleasant one. The message could be directed to me or to someone who will read my column. The message may be that one could end up with the same result in the next year if we do not do teshuvah or otherwise improve ourselves. At a minimum, we need to try to examine the areas of our lives that need improvement. It is not only in spiritual areas. As we get older, exercise, proper eating, and getting enough sleep increase in importance. A lifestyle that you can get away with when you are younger can be destructive when you are older.
As one gets old, it would be expected that there would be more urgency when Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur arrive. Also, one would expect that having contemporaries who are suffering from serious health problems would jar one out of complacency. I went to a special Tehilim at one shul since so many members are sick. I have known many of them for years. The problem with human nature is that we convince ourselves that it happened to them, but it cannot happen to us. Also, instead of being realistic as to where we should consider ourselves in the stage of our lives, we pretend that we are in an earlier stage. The category of being middle-aged keeps on expanding, especially as baby boomers age.
In the past, I have tried various techniques to try to put myself in the proper frame of mind. Unfortunately, they did not work for me. One year, a person came over to me and said that my column did have an effect on them. That year, I wrote that the cemeteries are filled with people who went through Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur with no doubt in their minds that they would live through the year.
I would hope that I will take what I saw to heart. If my history is any indication, in a few days I will be busy with work and other things and will move on. Even if that happens, I hope that my incident will cause others to approach Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur with a better frame of mind, which ends up changing the decree to life. If that happens, then seeing the body bag was worth it.
Warren S. Hecht is a local attorney. He can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
