Just Precious

I’m sitting in a classroom when I hear the shrill of a siren. Instinctively, I say a perek of tehillim.

“Shir hama’alos mima’amakim kir’asicha Hashem…” 

I’ve been doing this since I was a kid. I think it was my second grade teacher who told our class about this idea and since then, it stuck. When an ambulance passes, it’s an opportune time to ask Hashem for the patient to be safe and everyone to be okay.

As I grow older, the lessons I’ve learned as a child get passed on to my own children.

The first time my kids saw me stop when I heard a siren, they questioned me. I explained that the sound I heard meant that there was an emergency. And if someone needs help, if there’s a fire or an accident, I stop and say a tefillah to ask Hashem to keep everyone safe.

My kids understood and went back to whatever playtime activity they were busy with.

Now, every time we hear a siren, my little boy yells out, “Mommy, you have to say a tefillah!”

And he checks to make sure I am whispering something quietly to myself.

And then the precious moment came...

After hearing a siren wailing outside, I stopped, said a perek of tehillim and noticed my little girl whispering quietly to herself.

I took a step closer and was able to make out the words she was saying.

What tefillah did she choose to say at that very moment?

Her words were those of elokai neshama.

How precious is that?