Rabbi Freedman
March 30, 2020
In Jewish tradition, we begin each day by reciting a series of blessings that are designed to make us aware of the daily miracles of daily life. The first of these blessings is:
Praise to You, Adonai our God, Sovereign of the universe, who has given the mind the ability to distinguish day from night.
This blessing in commonly understood as thanking God for wisdom, primarily the wisdom to tell the difference between light and darkness. At this critical time, this prayer reminds us that we have the ability to see light even when we have the feeling of being surrounded by darkness.
We sense light in our interactions with one another and among those with whom we are sheltered in place. We see light in the actions of those individuals who are on the front lines of fighting this disease and who are continuing to make essential services available to us. We see light in our reactions to these challenging times as a way to dispel the darkness of the times themselves.
May we be blessed not only to see light but, as ones created in God's image, create light for others as well.
Rabbi Freedman
March 26, 2020
For most of us, sheltering in place is something of a challenge, although the individual challenges we face are different. Some of us have one or more children at home, others feel isolated from friends, while still others worry about relatives both here and far away.
In such an atmosphere, it can be difficult to remain in the space of blessing, so let me share a thought along those lines. Imagine what it would be like to be sheltering in place without the technology which has come about in the last decade. We take a functioning internet for granted, along with personal computers that were unimaginable in size and power not so long ago. We entertain our children with a variety of online activities. (Can you imagine these days armed only with Crayola crayons, Sesame Street, Captain Kangaroo and Disney videos?) We speak with relatives and friends in real-time. We access real-time information whenever we want, not just through the morning papers or hourly newscasts. What an incredible era this is!
These may not be gifts from God but they are the result of God-given human ingenuity combined with a universe that functions in predictable patterns so that everything from gravity to electricity to the internet is possible. So, while clearly these are challenging and anxious moments, let's not lose our ability to encounter blessing as well. Stay in a good space and may that good space be virus (in every sense of that word) free!!
Rabbi Freedman
Rabbi freedman
March 20, 2020
Let's Respond Like Israelis to the Pandemic
One of the differences between Americans and Israelis is that Americans tend to say, "let me know if I can do anything for you," while Israelis just do it. This is a time to respond like our Israeli cousins would. We all know people who we suspect feel particularly challenged by the current circumstances under which all of us live. Know someone who lives alone? Assume they could use a call. Know someone with children at home? Set up a virtual playgroup or utilize sites that allow children in various locations to join in an activity online. Know a first responder or healthcare worker? Send them a note of appreciation and recognition that they have no choice to work safely from home. Know someone who works in a restaurant, a small business or other service industry hit by the economic downturn? Send them a note of encouragement and patronize their business online or buy a gift card for future use.
Let's be proactive in our approach to each other. The worst that can happen is that those who might need some additional love feel too much of it. Not a bad problem to have. Shabbat shalom.