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The East Coast has gotten more than its fair share of snow, ice, sleet and freezing rain this winter. So far, it has snowed 55.6 inches, making it one of the snowiest New York winters on record. 

At the Chabad Israel center we have a car that is used by assorted people for assorted errands. So it was only a matter of time before winter interfered with our vehicle. On Friday afternoon, one of our staff members tried to park the car on 3rd Avenue, and ran into a snow bank. Getting onto it was no problem, but getting off was an entirely different story. 

By the time I arrived on the scene, at least five kind strangers were standing around trying to help. One guy even brought a pot of boiling water which we tried pouring onto the snow to melt it, but to no avail. The car refused to budge. 

Had it been a regular weekday, it would have been annoying, but slightly easier to deal with. But this happened on a Fridayafternoon and I needed the car to run some errands before Shabbat. I didn't have time for this mess!

Alas, it quickly became apparent that the car was firmly embedded in the snow. 

In fact, the snow was actually a block of pure ice coated in a thin layer of snow. So we spent two hours chipping away at the ice, bit by bit. Finally, I was able to drive!

The Baal Shem Tov taught that we should search for meaning in every situation. So as I stood there on Friday, sweating and chipping away at the ice, I began thinking. 

In this week's Torah portion we read about the Tabernacle, a sanctuary for G-d, which the Jews constructed in the desert. It was to be a spiritual haven, a place for G-d to "reside" in the physical world. 

Today, we no longer have the Tabernacle or Temple, but our sages explain that there is a sanctuary for G-d inside each and every one of us. Our soul, should be a place where G-d can rest and feel at home. 

As we navigate through life, it's all too easy to get "stuck in the snow" and become numb to spirituality. We become so wrapped up in our physical surroundings and responsibilities that we no longer feel the warmth of Judaism. 

And that leads to apathy. We are simply not motivated to do anything beyond our comfort zone.  We become immobilized by the icy coldness that has crept up on us. 

That's when we realize we must do something about it. We cannot continue living in a frozen stupor! It's time to start chipping away at the ice and snow until we can feel our souls once more. 

How do we accomplish that? By doing one Mitzvah at a time. Each time we give tzeddakah, light Shabbat candles, pray, help an elderly person, say a blessing on kosher food or do a multitude of other mitzvot, we are chipping away at the ice, and allowing the warmth inside our soul to emanate. 

It took two hours to dig out my car. If the icy buildup around our souls has been accumulating for a while, it may take some time to recapture the warmth we know Judaism has to offer. But it's worth every minute. 

When the Jewish month of Adar begins, we are supposed to increase in joy. To that end, we flew in Israeli comedian, Ori Chizkiya, to perform at our Chabad center. 

We planned every detail meticulously. We rented an auditorium in a prestigious private school on Fifth Avenue and made sure we had everything we needed with regards to acoustics and stage lighting. 

Thank G-d, tickets were selling well. In fact, they were selling too well! A full week before the show we were completely sold out. All 400 tickets sold and accounted for. Still more people wanted to join and were upset to hear there were no tickets left. “Doesn’t Chabad accept everybody?” they wanted to know. “We don’t need seats, we’ll stand!” 

The day before the event I called the school to confirm a couple of details and the principal told me, “You know, Rabbi, there’s a major snowstorm headed our way…” 

“Oh, that’s no problem,” I answered. “We’re used to storms. We don’t cancel events. In fact, last year we had a beautiful Shabbat dinner with over 250 people in the midst of a snowstorm!” 

“Well, you may not cancel if there’s a snowstorm,” she said, “but we may cancel if there’s no school. No school, no show.” 

“But what about our show? We have a contract! Can’t you open just for us?” I begged.

“Absolutely not.” 

At this point, we began to panic. I phoned numerous auditoriums in Manhattan, and understandably most of them couldn’t schedule anything on such short notice. Finally, I found one place, a beautiful venue, willing to take us, but at four times the price! And they were pressuring me for an immediate answer since it was already the end of the day. 

I was torn. I’ve been living in New York for long enough to know that when the weather report says, “Severe alert! 100% chance of snow,” that’s exactly what will happen. So, if I cancel the show, I lose lots of money because I still need to pay the comedian’s cancellation fee and refund all the tickets. If I take the new venue, it’s considerably more expensive and very late notice. What if people don’t check their email and go to the wrong place? Two very un-ideal options!

Our Chassidic masters taught a revolutionary concept – “Think good and it will be good.” The Lubavitcher Rebbe explained that positive thinking generates positive outcomes. With that in mind, I decided to think good thoughts and stick with the current plan – having the event at the school auditorium. 

I told everyone who called that night the show would be going on as planned, in the private school. When people asked, “What about the snow?” I answered, “Think good and it will be good.”

I was up all night, making sure to think positive thoughts, and obsessively checking the weather reports to see how bad the storm would be. Finally, at 6am, the mayor’s office announced that public schools would be open. 

I was still unsure, though, because our event was to take place in a private school, and a number of other schools were closed. Finally, at 11:30am I got an email that we were definitely on for the show! 

“Think good and it will be good” is something we need to internalize and live with every day, no matter what challenges and obstacles we face. With a positive attitude, we can overcome almost anything!