On the Road

The Gemara (Eruvin 65b) teaches that a person's true nature can be determined בכוסו ובכיסו ובכעסו – "through his cup, his pocket, and his anger." This means that a person's essence comes to the fore when he drinks a little too much, or when he is tested – either in his "pocket," when he loses money, or when his angered. It is easy to be a nice, good-natured, kind person when things are going well. But when a person is challenged, when he is out of his element, when something goes wrong, when he encounters some unexpected bump in the road, when something in his life goes a little out-of-a-whack – we see who he really is. I recall once speaking on the phone with a wonderful, refined, and conscientiously-religious individual, while he was in the airport. He suddenly realized that something went wrong – if I recall correctly, he suddenly noticed that one of his documents was missing. He blurted out a word that should never be used – and that this man would never even imagine using under normal circumstances. When people are traveling, they out of their element. They're not comfortable. They're anxious, they're uptight, and so they're more vulnerable. This is true spiritually, as well. When we're home, we have our framework and routine. It is relatively easy to keep kosher, to properly observe Shabbat, and to attend minyan . Maintaining our religious standards is not complicated under normal conditions because our lives are – to our credit – set up that way. But when we travel, wh