Hamesivta Director Gives Thanks After Surviving Dangerous Crash

“My funeral could have been today. For the first time, I faced my mortality, and I’m just so happy to be alive.” Hamesivta Director Rabbi Moshe Lieblich gives thanks after surviving dangerous crash.

By Rabbi Moshe Lieblich

Dear Friend,

Yesterday at 3:32 pm, I was driving upstate to spend Shabbos with my family. I was driving in the right lane when a 15-passenger van started driving into my lane. He didn’t see me and continued driving right into my car. I swerved to the right, but in a flash, I realized that I was going off the highway straight into a tree. I swerved back onto the highway and lost control of the car.

Now, I found myself in the left lane, about to go straight into oncoming traffic. So, I swerved back to the right and again lost control. I swerved back to the left, and at that moment, it hit me that I had no control and whatever happens, happens. The car spun around what felt like a few times. I remember holding onto the steering wheel and bracing for impact.

My car, going at 65 miles per hour, went crashing into the wall, and all I could see around was a cloud of dust.

The first thing I thought about was to check my body to ensure everything was ok, and miracle of miracles, not a scratch. I was pretty shaken as I got out of the car and noticed three lanes of ongoing traffic going at 65-70 miles per hour.

Hatzala told me that this was supposed to be a multi-car accident, possibly with fatalities. He didn’t understand how I swerved through a busy highway without getting hit by another car and how I crashed into the wall without a scratch.

I spent the rest of the day in a daze. The scene kept playing over and over in my head; I had visions of my family finding out, I saw them at my funeral, and my kids saying Kaddish. It was surreal; I couldn’t get the images out of my head.

I didn’t come home and hug each of my kids for five long minutes like I was supposed to. I was in my own world, thinking how grateful I am to be alive. Maybe I didn’t want to scare them about what could have happened.

Why am I writing this email?

First, to give thanks to Hashem. I want to spread the miracle and talk about Hashem’s greatness.

The other reason, I don’t know. Maybe to inspire someone else to also have a love for life. Maybe I just need to journal and write about how life is so short, and there is so much more I want to accomplish. I wanted to make a bigger difference in this world, and I better start working harder.

For the first time, I faced my mortality, and I’m just so Happy to Be Alive.

Rabbi Moshe Lieblich