Danger! Keep back

Two-and-a-half-weeks ago a five year old was sitting on the railing of a Disney cruise ship. She fell backward, fell through a porthole, and ended up in the water.

Her mother ran to tell the father, who jumped in and held on to her. He treaded water for twenty minutes, until the ship’s crew were able to pull them into a boat.

Someone posted a picture of the probable railing and porthole. There was no sign posted, warning of the danger of allowing a child to sit on the railing.

I remember reading that years ago, on a Disney resort, a little boy was playing near a pond. There was a sign to keep away from the water.

An alligator pulled the boy into the water. There was no way to save him.

At the time, someone pointed out that the sign said to keep away from the water — but it didn’t say why. It should have said: ‘Keep away from water because of alligators.’ This would have alerted people to the exact danger, so that they would make sure to keep themselves and their children a safe distance from the water.

Recently a flash flood in Texas killed many people in a religious camp, which was situated near the river that overflowed. The leader of the camp was killed while trying to rescue campers. Reportedly he received an alert from the weather bureau in the middle of the night, but instead of acting promptly, he hesitated for an hour, consulting with others whether he should evacuate the camp. An hour after receiving the alert, he realized that the water was clearly becoming dangerous, so he ordered the camp to evacuate. By that time it was too late.

And the teenage counsellors did not receive the alert, because the camp’s policy was to not allow counsellors to have cell phones.

The above teaches us, that when there is potential danger, there needs to be a warning sign alerting people to the danger; the warning sign needs to clearly state what the danger is; and when an alert is received regarding imminent danger, we need to act quickly.

I remember once meeting with a politician who had at one time been a reporter in various battle zones. I noticed a sign in his office, and I started to laugh. He told me that he thinks he obtained the sign in South Africa. It said: ‘Danger — Minefield ahead. Survivors will be shot.’

Now that’s a very motivating sign. The message was clear: ‘Don’t even think about walking there.’

So when danger lurks, warnings need to be clear, and we need to heed the warning and act upon it responsibly and with alacrity.

Israel was constantly warned, by the Lubavitcher Rebbe, that giving away land is dangerous, because it can open up the land before the enemy.

But Israel didn’t listen. So October 7 happened.

As a result, many in Israel have changed their minds (from wanting to give away land, to not giving any land away), because they see what happened when land was given away.

But some are stubborn. They have a dream, a mindset; they are convinced that giving away land will bring peace.

They are ignoring the warnings. They are ignoring October 7. And they are risking lives, including Arab lives.

It’s incumbent on those who see the danger, to clearly and explicitly warn the others: Danger! Don’t give away land. It’s dangerous. It can (and on October 7 did) open the land before the enemies.

We need to warn our people in clear terms.

And, as the Torah says, words coming from the heart enter the heart. And they will bring the desired effect.