Yesterday, our family took a boat trip thirty miles out into the Atlantic Ocean to the Stellwagen Bank just off the coast of Cape Cod. The purpose of the trip was to hopefully see some whales and some of the beauty of the Atlantic Ocean.
It was a very different kind of activity than the usual, and far away from the nonstop political campaigning that is dominating our nation’s news and conversations over the last two weeks.
As we went further out to sea, the stifling humidity of Provincetown was replaced by a brisk ocean breeze and occasionally some salty ocean spray. About fifty minutes out to sea, we spotted our first whale and over the next hour or so we sighted dozens of massive humpback and fin whales.
Watching these massive mammals in action was awe inspiring
and amazing and while I have been on several Whale Watches before this trip, this one was by far the best such trip. With each adult whale being anywhere from 40 – 60 feet long and weighing about 66,000 lbs. watching them make sure that they eat their daily fill of 5,500 lbs. of plankton and krill was truly an incredible sight.
The kids absolutely loved the trip and were so appreciative that they were able to do such an activity and see and learn so much about some of the vast ocean life.
In discussions with some of the Whale Experts on the boat I learned a few interesting things about whales.
1. They have documented and tracked over 2,000 different humpback whales in this part of the Atlantic Ocean with each whale’s tail having a specific set of markings that help tell it apart (and on this trip they were able to identify ten of the whales that they have documented).
2. Some of the Humpback whales continue to have new offspring even while their grandchildren are giving birth to their own offspring. One such whale has been documented for forty two years and recently had a calf in the same year that one of its grandchildren had a calf.
3. The Whales being mammals need to come up for air every four to five minutes and even though they are great swimmers, without the air they wouldn’t survive.
4. Lastly, I learned that even though they don’t necessarily work in teams, at times such as yesterday we saw as many as twelve whales working on catching their lunch together.
It was an absolutely beautiful and inspiring trip and I was left in awe at the beauty and vastness of G-d’s beautiful world. I was also greatly impressed by the hardworking people who study and advocate for Whale Protection and ocean life.
The famous Baal Shem Tov, the founder of the Chassidic
movement had a famous dictum in which he said that “in life, one must learn a lesson in serving G-d from everything that one sees”. Of course just seeing this sight was inspiring in itself, but then it got me thinking about some things we can learn from some of the above points.
1. While we all may look the same and look insignificant in comparison to the ocean of humanity in which we exist, we too have each been endowed with individual features, souls and character traits that enable us to fulfill our unique mission and role in the world. No two people are the same and each person has been given their own unique job and challenges which become their opportunity to make their own lives and the world around them a better place.
2. While we may not have new physical offspring while our grandchildren are having their own children, in the spiritual notion of offspring, meaning our actions and Mitzvot that we do in the world around us, productivity does not cease to be an important function just because of age. In fact, Judaism believes that each one of us can continue to play a critical role in the world around us just by the virtue of as existing and living. Of course when good deeds and Mitzvot are added to that existence then no matter what our age is, our responsibility to do as such continues to be incumbent upon us.
3. While Whales need to live in the water in order to live, eat and swim, they need their oxygen which they must rise to the surface for. They need to ensure that their nose or body is above the surface for a short moment to release some air and to
breathe in some new oxygen. As humans we too need to live, walk and work in the physical world around us in order to survive, have energy and be productive. Yet at the same time, to spiritually survive, we must also make sure that there are consistent times when we rise above the oceans that surround us and breathe in some spirituality into our lives. Doing so not only inspires us, it also gives us the perspective and energy to approach our responsibilities and objectives with a healthy and purposeful attitude that reflects our Jewish values and Divine purpose.
4. Like Whales, we may not always be people who like to work in groups or like organized religion, but there is no doubt about it, working in teams and working together, makes our purpose and work in this world so much easier and better.
Hope you enjoyed and now time to get ready for Shabbos
Good Shabbos & Shabbat Shalom
Yisroel