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