I have two teenage grandsons -- cousins of each other -- for a few days this summer between camps and other activities. Our schedule is to wake them up for davening (neither is a vasikin guy yet; as the kiruv people like to say), then I go learn, the meet me at kollel to learn for an hour, we have lunch (I get to make it for them!), and figure out an activity. Today was... rope course! In case you have not experienced that, feel free to ask Google "rope course description"; we went to GoApe.com.
The courses consisted of varying levels of bridges between trees. The easiest was rope (to walk on) within an netting enclosure. Then there were platforms separated by 18 inches or so held securely by double ropes, then separated, free swinging platforms, then single ropes with no enclosure, etc. The rule at this place was that one adult (that would be me) could be responsible for up to two adolescents (that would be my grandsons). There were five courses, each ended in a zipline as the only way down.
Each course also had options along the way: you could choose between medium and difficult, and sometimes extreme. The rule was that the group all had to take the same path. The boys agreed that we would stick to medium when possible; and avoid extreme. They were absolutely on board with that. This was the first time I had been on such a course. They were thrilled we were there.
I should mention that you are always attached to a safety cable. It is not possible to drop more than a foot or two at the most. This place had a particularly good system to ensure safety. There was also always at least one staff member with eyes on us. My thought when starting this TftD was to talk about bitachon. It is an amazing experience of bitachon to walk that course. You know you can't fall -- you can see and feel the harness holding you. Each zipline adventure starts with stepping off a platform high above the forest floor. Yet both the thrill and fear are absolutely real. All amazing life lessons.
Then we got to the last circuit. As we approach, a staff member calls down: If you want to skip the Tarzan Swing, just go to your right. Umm... what? So the Tarzan Swing is where they hook you up to a single rope, you step off a platform and swing -- Tarzan style -- into a huge rope net. You bounce off the net (they tell you to try to hit it with your shoulder and keep the rope away from your face). After you bounce off the net, you swing back and this time you grab on (you are going too fast to hold on the first time). You scamper up the net onto a platform, where you re-hook yourself to the regular system. Simple.
Shockingly, the Tarzan Swing is rated "extreme", painted on a black sign. No skull and crossbones, but you can feel them there. The looks on the faces of me grandsons was priceless. Remember that rule that the group all has to take the same route. They both looked longingly at the Tarzan Swing, but headed to the door on our right that skips that for only difficult and medium routes. I called them back: "Where are you guys going? Let's do the Tarzan Swing."
I was going to write about bitachon, and this definitely was a powerful lesson in bitachon. But this was so much more. That is why I am writing it tonight when I really need to go to sleep but I don't want to forget what it felt like to see their faces, to hear their excitement, to experience the Tarzan Swing with them.
There is a well known medrash in which the angels want to keep the Torah, Moshe is afraid to answer them, HaShem tells Moshe to grab ahold of His כסא הכבוד/Throne of Glory to answer them. Moshe asks: do you eat so you need kosher dietary laws? Do you have parents to honor? The angels admit they have no case and Moshe brings the Torah to us.
I have analyzed this medrash to understand what these seemingly simple questions mean, but I never really understood why Moshe had to grab onto the כסא הכבוד before he could answer. I always just figured, I guess you need to live it to understand it. That was my best answer. Till this afternoon.
To understand living a Torah life, you really experience stepping into a situation where you know -- intellectually -- that everything is being very carefully supervised, but you actually feel the fear that everything depends on you and the slightest misstep can mean certain destruction. When Moshe was in heaven receiving the Torah, he was too distant from life to explain why we get the Torah and the angels don't. Moshe needed to be in heaven and see that everything is perfectly managed, but at that very same moment needed to hold on to the כסא הכבוד to feel like it all depended on his own efforts. At that point Moshe was no longer in a debate with the angels. There were no longer two sides to be weighed for a final decision. Moshe simply told them why he was taking the Torah. End of story.
My experience on the Tarzan Swing? It's late... I'll have to tell you later. Spoiler alert: I lived to tell the tale, but only after failing; which proved to be the greatest success.
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