Dear friends,
Hope you are all feeling well.
I had originally planned to host a women’s Matzah Ball soup cooking experience and discussion for women tonight. Unfortunately we will have to postpone this.
But I did want to share some inspiration with you in this challenging situation we are in today.
We are all dealing with this differently. Some of us know people who are in hospital or who have died from the illness and are sad or worried about the future. Some of us are overwhelmed at the sudden loss of employment or pressure to continue travelling to work in risky conditions. Some of us are not well stocked at home and hope we will somehow manage to pull through. Some of us are not coping with children home all day. Some of us are somehow super chilled and still enjoying the memes and humour being sent around.
I wanted to share some wisdom from Torah sages that is bound to be relevant to all of us in our own way. And likely to keep our spirits calm and positive in this time. I will share three points to ponder. One to help us cope mentally, one to pick us up emotionally, and one practical thing we can do to strengthen our physical immune system.
Mental immune system:
Firstly, what is faith? And how to have faith at a time like this that somehow everything will be okay?
Faith in Judaism means accepting that everything that comes our way is from G-d. When we believe that G-d is in charge and in control, it helps us hand over the driver’s seat to the Only One and we can relax more in the back. But there is a deeper dimension to faith. We call this level of faith ‘trust’. This is when we trust in G-d that no matter what and no matter how, G-d will deal with us kindly. G-d can and will give us and our families good health. G-d can and will help us get through this calmly. We have to trust this. You may have heard of the law of attraction. In Judaism, positive thinking doesn’t only attract good things to come your way, but it actually creates that goodness for you. By you thinking positively that G-d will for sure without a doubt help you, you are ‘earning’ G-d’s blessings even if you weren’t otherwise deserving! (Based on the teachings of the Rebbe)
To boost your mental immunity today: meditate on this for a minute or two. Tell yourself, ‘no matter what and no matter how, G-d can and will give me only good health and the strength to be calm.’
Emotional immune system:
In addition to the positive thinking we practise when it comes to strengthening our faith in G-d, there is also a command to ‘serve G-d with joy’. This doesn’t only mean to be joyous while serving G-d. A deeper meaning is that one way to serve G-d is simply by being happy! Now, happiness is easy when there are good reasons to be happy. But what happens when we are running on empty and there are no more reasons? What happens when instead of reasons to be happy, we only feel reasons to be sad?
One thing that helps me in challenging times is the verse from Isaiah ‘With joy you will leave and with peace you will be led’ – commonly said when escorting someone on their way out. But the Tzemach Tzedek explained that a deeper explanation for this verse is – How do you leave any challenging situation? With joy!
You see, in Judaism there is a concept of creating a ‘vessel’ for G-d’s blessings to enter. G-d is always ready to ‘pour’ blessings upon us but we need a cup to contain the blessings! Sometimes taking on a Mitzvah ensures that we have a vessel to contain a blessing. For example the Mitzvah of giving charity is considered a vessel for the blessing of wealth, and the Mitzvah of family purity is considered a vessel for the blessing of healthy children. There are many more such examples. But there is also a general vessel – the vessel created by our happy mood! Just putting ourselves into a happy mood - even and especially when there is absolutely no good reason for it that we can see as finite beings – creates a vessel for good things to come our way. (based on the teachings of Chassidus)
To boost your emotional immune system today: Do some exercise, listen to something uplifting, talk to a friend, or do anything else that makes your mood happy so that you will be creating a vessel for G-d to shower you with good health and strength to cope at this time.
Physical immune system:
Spiritual protection for physical illness:
Here is a suggestion I would love to share with you.
A Mezuzah on the door of a Jewish home is a sign of G-d’s protection for the people who live in the house – whether they are inside it or not. If there is any way you can organise a Mezuzah for your home if you do not have one yet, it will give you a sense of calm to know that you are being protected. You can be in touch to order one directly from Chabad of Battersea to be mailed to you.
With warm wishes for good health for you and your families,
And a Kosher and Happy Pesach,
Gitty.