This sad tale was told to me by one of our patients at the St. Albans VA Medical Center. It happened to a cousin of his.
The guy was of draft age in the middle of WWII. He watched as all of his friends around him got drafted.
But he was still sitting at home, waiting.
Finally, after six months, curiosity got the best of him. He visited his Draft Board to inquire about his status.
A Board clerk told him to wait a while. After 15 minutes, she returned. "Please stay a little longer. We're having some trouble locating your file."
Finally, after two hours, his name was called. This time, the clerk blandly stated, "Your file was accidentally misplaced. We just found it in the Deceased Filing Cabinet. You will be drafted at once. You have two weeks to settle your affairs."
After those two weeks, the cousin, now a private in the Army, underwent four months of intensive combat training and was shipped to a battlefield in France. Within ten days, he fell in battle.
The moral of the story!
Never go around, inquiring, "How am I doing?"
Maybe the Malach Ha-Mavet has overlooked you!
Let sleeping dogs lie!
- Rabbi Murray Stadtmauer
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