Man on a Mission

In the Zichronos section of Mussaf on Rosh Hashanah, we recite how none of our deeds, even those done long ago or in secret, are forgotten by Hashem nor obscured from His gaze. The prayer speaks of how on this day, Hashem reviews “maaseh ish u’pekudaso —  a man’s deeds and his mission.” We understand why He would scrutinize a person’s actions — that’s what a Yom HaDin is all about — but why the focus on his mission?

Finkelstein had landed his dream job, driving a city bus for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. He showed up bright and early on his first day of work and was assigned his daily route, to crisscross the streets of Manhattan’s Upper East Side. Off he went, eager to please his supervisor and show he was up to the job of a Big Apple bus driver.

At the end of a long day at the wheel, he pulled into the MTA terminal and headed for the main office. This was back in the good old days when passengers paid with cash, and Finkelstein emptied a sack containing the day’s proceeds and fed them into the counting machine. Out came a receipt for $134.57. He handed it to his boss, who was pleased. Finkelstein beamed with pride.

The scene repeated itself the next two days, with the proceeds each day roughly equal to those of the first day. But on day number four, when Finkelstein’s haul for the day was counted, it amounted to a head-spinning $546.23. “Finkelstein!” his boss shouted. “This is a hundred bucks more than the last three days combined. How is that possible?!” “Boss, boss,” he said, “lemme explain. For some reason, my route was almost deserted this morning, there was hardly anyone waiting at my stops. So after lunch, I went over to 34th Street and Sixth Avenue in Midtown. I’m telling you, that place is a gold mine!”