Rabbi Aaron Flanzraich, Beth Sholom Synagogue

Without question you and I have spent the past weeks asking and saying, this is unbelievable. And it is. We’ve said, there are no words. No question. We are in a struggle of many ways and many levels. This struggle has us told to avoid large crowds, to not be outside of our homes unless necessary,not to draw close to people we care for, to shake hands, hug, to kiss, to keep the very young away from the elderly for the sake of the elderly - because the very young appear to have a more robust immunity to COVID-19 - all of this asks us to undo the way we have been taught to live since we drew our first breaths. We are cut off from the people we love and care for. Restaurants and offices are closed. Entertainment and public spaces locked off. Our schools and beloved synagogues are shuttered. Pesach is approaching and many of us will be sitting without family at a table. This is deeply unnatural for us. But deeply necessary as well.

In moments like this we feel alone, anxious and filled with questions of why and what will be. But this has a lesson: there are times in our lives when we are given the opportunity to become something different, to become a person who can re-see what makes life poignant and beautiful. And we are learning it is not the things – but the people.
‍
Much will be written of this time and how much was lost. But these moments are also an opportunity. In having all this taken away are we not reminded that Jewish survival and success has been built on the very things we long for now:family, friends and community? Let us deeply re-commit to them all as soon as we are able.

Join me as I pray for the healing of the ill. As I pray for the well-being of the medical professionals who place their lives on the line to care for us. As I pray to return to the way things used to be but with a new sense of how important they are. Join me as I pray to never take them for granted again.

With my blessings for good health, safety and peace.