The Ignore Button

I heard this fascinating story from someone who had a pretty eye-opening experience in a taxi ride while chatting with the non-religious Israeli taxi driver about his past. After finishing his IDF service, he and some friends took a trip to the Philippines, a common rite of passage for many Israeli ex-soldiers. While hiking in a forest, one from their group started screaming — a dangerous snake had wrapped around his leg. In that terrifying moment, the friends, driven by instinct, told him to recite the Shema, a central Jewish prayer.

Amazingly, after reciting the prayer with deep concentration and sincerity, the snake uncoiled and slithered away, leaving the friend unharmed. This experience profoundly affected the friend; it led him to embrace the religious practices of keeping kosher and observing Shabbat that he had not observed prior.

The taxi driver used this story to highlight a point about perception and belief suggesting that many of us have a sort of “ignore button” that we press when faced with signs or miracles, choosing not to see the potential messages they carry. The story was not just about a miraculous escape; it was a prompt to consider how often we overlook the extraordinary in our lives, choosing skepticism or indifference over curiosity and growth.

The driver’s story touches on the power of faith and the impact of acknowledging the signs around us. It challenges the listener to reflect on their own openness to change and growth, suggesting that the divine might be speaking to us in moments big and small, if only we choose to listen and let those moments guide us. This tale isn’t just a recount of a close encounter with a snake; it’s an invitation to look more closely at our lives and consider the possibility of miracles, urging us to explore our faith and the depth of our convictions.

R’ Yaakov Rahimi of Lakewood, N.J. has created a storm in the Jewish world bringing back many unaffiliated young men and women to the pathways of Hashem through Chazaq, TorahAnytime, NCSY, BJX, and Partners in Torah. R’ Rahimi is a graduate of Deal Yeshiva, and learned in Beth Medrash Govoha, his hometown, becoming a very close talmid of Rabbis Yeruchem Olshin shlit”a, and Yitzchok Sorotzkin shlit”a. R’ Rahimi partook in the Sephardic halachic project Mishnah Berurah Tiferet. The rabbi can be reached at, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

By Rabbi Yaakov Rahimi