There was once a doctor who was told that one night shift in the hospital he would be on the ward all by himself. With many patients and no support, this was not going to be an easy task, and he reluctantly had to accept it. But he was told that if things became too much for him, he has a phone line which he could use to call the nurses, and they would come and help him out. Anyway, the evening started fine – one patient needed food and the doctor responded, then another, and the doctor was up to the task…
However, as midnight approached, suddenly many patients needed things at the same time and the doctor was running round like a lunatic to treat them all. By the end of the night, 2 patients were in serious conditions due to lack of treatment, and one other was on the verge of death. The doctor was called into a tribunal and charges were pressed against him for endangering the patients’ lives. ‘But what could I have done’ the doctor protested – ‘I was put in there all alone!’ ‘The judge responded ‘you had a phone line. You should have picked up the phone.’ And so it is with our everyday lives. Sometimes challenges can seem too hard and mitzvos dfficult, and retaining that level of jewish commitment seems to be at constant war with the messages of the world around us. But the key is to ‘pick up the phone’ – to daven that things should be made easier – to get that vital support. (From Rav Pinkus)
