Safety Measures

I learned a valuable lesson from the rockets fired out of Gaza. Living in Jerusalem, I had a relatively luxurious minute and a half to seek shelter once the sirens went off. Others only had 15 seconds. An interesting fact is that when a siren was sounded in Be'er Sheva, nothing was heard in Jerusalem; when one was sounded in Jerusalem nothing was heard in Ashkelon. How did the Israeli security system know where to set off the sirens? By measuring the trajectory of the rocket within the first few seconds it was launched the radars could determine its final destination and the alarm would be triggered in the appropriate place.
The Torah's procedure for dealing with a Ben Sorer U'moreh (a wayward son) follows the same model. The question is asked: how could a boy who just turned 13 receive the death sentence for eating a hefty portion of meat and drinking more than a fare share of wine? Isn't the punishment disproportionate to the crime? The answer is because the Torah sees where this boy is heading. Such indulgence at such an early stage in life registers on the Torah's "radar" and the final destination of this boy is clear - he will steal and murder. The Torah therefore decides better he die innocent now, rather than guilty later on (Talmud Sanhedrin). From the trajectory of his behavior the final destination is determined - just like the rockets.
This taught me something about emunah and bitachon (belief & faith). Similarly they set our trajectory. From the very beginning of any "journey" we embark on whether it be raising children, our jobs, or learning - the end is already clear. It all depends on how much emunah and bitachon is guiding our actions. During the month of Elul we all embark on a personal journey of introspection and self-improvement. May we all have the insight to employ the right amount of emunah and bitachon to ensure we arrive safely at our desired destination.